Massachusetts Lawmakers Send Expansive Gun Control Bill to Governor’s Desk

Last updated on August 7th, 2024 at 04:27 pm

Gun rights activists are raising alarm over a law moving through the Massachusetts state legislature that they believe could prohibit most types of semiautomatic rifles.

Massachusetts state law already employs a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” but a new bill could dramatically expand the definition of what’s considered to be a banned firearm.

The current “assault weapons” ban language in the state entails a “feature test,” whereby any semiautomatic firearm with the ability to accept a detachable magazine and with at least two other features, is considered illegal.

Currently, a banned rifle in Massachusetts is any semiautomatic rifle capable of accepting a detachable magazine that has at least two of: a folding or telescoping stock; a pistol grip; a bayonet mount; a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor; or a grenade launcher.

Bill H.4885, which has already passed both the state House and state Senate, adds barrel shrouds to the feature test list for semiautomatic rifles. This “shroud,” defined as a device that “encircles either all or part of the barrel designed to shield the bearer’s hand from heat, excluding a slide that encloses the barrel.”

The Gun Owners’ Action League (GOAL), a gun rights advocacy group, argues this addition to the feature test “essentially bans all semi-automatic firearms.” Many models of semiautomatic rifles include a shroud, along with at least one of the other features already included in the state’s feature list.

“This bill represents a direct attack on our Second Amendment rights, and GOAL has been tirelessly working to oppose it,” the organization said in a July 18 press statement.

The new bill would also limit who can create self-assembled firearms using 3D printing or CNC milling technology.

“No person shall use a 3-dimensional printer or computer numerical control milling machine to manufacture or assemble any firearm within the commonwealth without a valid license to carry firearms,” the bill reads.

Massachusetts law also prohibits so-called “large-capacity feeding devices” defined as ammunition feeding devices capable of feeding more than 10 rounds into a rifle or more than five shells into a shotgun. The new bill modifies the definition of a prohibited ammunition-feeding device to include “any part or combination of parts from which a device can be assembled” that results in a device capable of feeding 10 rounds into a rifle or five shells into a shotgun.

The Democrat-controlled Massachusetts state legislature moved the bill through both the House and Senate in just two days.

MassLive.com reported the Republican minority in the state Senate tried to slow the bill’s movement, requesting to delay a vote and then asking to read aloud all 116 pages of the bill. Those efforts failed.

“We have had little time to comprehend and talk to our constituents about this issue,” Republican state Sen. Ryan C. Fattman said, according to the State House News Service.

The bill passed the House on July 18 by a vote of 124-33, and the Senate later the same day by a vote of 35-5. It’s now up to Gov. Maura Healey, a Democratic, to sign and enact the bill into law.