Today, without considering the unintended effects of such poorly thought out legislation, the Massachusetts state House of Representatives passed Amendment 1 attached to House Bill 3951 with overreaching language that would ban modifications commonly made to firearms by law-abiding citizens. The state Senate could be considering this bill as early as tomorrow. Please contact your senator and urge them to OPPOSE this legislation! Click the “Take Action” button below to contact your senator.
Offered by state Representative David Linsky (D-5th Middlesex), Amendment 1 bans “any device which attaches to a [firearm]… that is designed to increase the rate of discharge” or the modification of any firearm “with the intent to increase its rate of discharge.” This broad language could be easily interpreted to ban match grade triggers, ergonomic enhancements, recoil reducing weights, muzzle brakes, and other modifications that countless law-abiding gun owners utilize in order to make their firearms more user friendly and suitable for self-defense, competition, hunting, and even adapting to physical disability. Many of these modifications simply make it easier to deliver accurate and controlled shots with less physical discomfort for the shooter without fundamentally changing the mechanics of how a firearm operates.
In addition, Amendment 1 would give the Secretary of Public Safety unprecedented regulatory authority to implement this ban along with violations being punished with a mandatory minimum sentence of three years imprisonment.
Currently, at the urging of Congress, ATF is reviewing whether its prior determinations regarding bump-fire stocks are correct. Any legislation in this area should wait for this review to be complete so an accurate assessment of the applicable federal law is available.
Again, please contact your Senator and urge them to oppose this legislation. Stay tuned to www.nraila.org and your email inbox for further updates on this bill.