Yesterday, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced that she wants to further restrict the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Massachusetts citizens by arbitrarily changing the way her office enforces the state’s existing “assault weapons” ban. Massachusetts state law currently prohibits the possession of “assault weapons” and large capacity feeding devices (defined as devices capable of holding certain amounts of ammunition) and “copies or duplicates of the weapons.” This law mirrors the federal “assault weapons” ban that expired in 2004.
Attorney General Healey claims that gun manufacturers across the state have been selling firearms to citizens that they claim are compliant with the law, but that she says would be considered “copies or duplicates” of the “assault weapons” prohibited for possession under Massachusetts law.
By doing so, Attorney General Healey has over stepped her boundaries as Attorney General and created a new definition outside of the statute that currently regulates so-called “assault weapons” in Massachusetts. This new definition could lead to a total ban of all semi-automatic firearms in the state.
Your NRA-ILA will be working tirelessly to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners in Massachusetts by looking into the legal options available to fight this egregious attack. Please stay tuned to your email inbox and www.nraila.org for further updates on this issue.