A bunch of gun violence prevention advocates launched a marketing campaign Monday to persuade voters to maintain in place a significant gun legislation that gun house owners and Second Modification rights supporters try to repeal by way of the 2026 statewide elections.
The “Vote Yes for a Safe Massachusetts” marketing campaign slammed gun rights teams attempting to repeal the legislation as “extremists” who need to upend a “lifesaving law in its entirety.” Critics of the legislation have mentioned it’s an overreach of governmental powers, whereas supporters contend it creates safer communities.
Massachusetts Coalition to Forestall Gun Violence Government Director Ruth Zakarin mentioned “strong policies” within the state are working to maintain folks secure from gun violence, and the invoice accredited final 12 months helps decrease the speed of gun deaths.
“I think for me, it’s about making sure that people understand the role that these kinds of laws play in decreasing rates of gun violence and nothing that’s in the law is taking people’s rights away,” Zakarin informed the Herald. “Legal gun owners still have a right to have their legal guns. That does not change.”
Toby Leary, proprietor of Cape Gun Works and head of the group attempting to repeal the legislation, The Civil Rights Coalition, didn’t instantly reply to a Herald inquiry Monday morning. However the social media account for The Civil Rights Coalition blasted the brand new marketing campaign.
“Restricting non-resident junior hunting has nothing to do with stopping violent crime. We look forward to multiple debates and forums to help educate voters,” the coalition mentioned. “The way to stop violent crime is to lock up violent criminals and not re-release them to the streets.”
Leary and his group collected greater than 90,000 signatures final 12 months to put a query on the 2026 poll asking voters to repeal the expansive gun legislation.
The quantity of signatures the group gathered would have been sufficient to instantly droop the legislation till the election, however Gov. Maura Healey used govt motion to instantly implement the statute by declaring it an emergency measure.
The gun legislation is sweeping.
It bans folks underneath 21 from proudly owning semiautomatic rifles or shotguns, takes goal at so-called “ghost guns” by requiring the serialization of all firearms, and bars know-how that turns semiautomatic weapons into totally computerized ones.
The legislation additionally carried out a number of recent coaching and licensing necessities
Different components of the statute govern inspections of firearms sellers, institution of a brand new firearms management advisory board, and notifications associated to functions for civil commitments and the expiration of harassment prevention orders.
Opponents of the legislation are additionally pursuing a number of lawsuits in native and federal courts.
Juanita Batchelor, the manager director of the Darrell Lee Jenkins, Jr. Useful resource Middle in Springfield, is one other member of “Vote Yes for a Safe Massachusetts.” Batchelor mentioned the firearms coverage is important to decreasing gun violence in Western Massachusetts.
“Springfield is my home, it is where I lost my son, and it is where I work to ensure that no other mom has to experience such a loss. We must protect this vital legislation from repeal, and we must do everything we can to keep our communities — and our children — safe from gun violence,” Batchelor mentioned in an announcement.
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