Mike Kennealy, a Republican candidate for Massachusetts governor, mentioned he helps a marketing campaign to repeal a sweeping gun regulation that Beacon Hill Democrats say creates safer communities however opponents criticize as an overreach of governmental powers.
In pledging to help efforts to repeal the regulation, the 57-year-old from Lexington has sided with a gaggle of gun house owners, hunters, and Second Modification rights activists who’ve launched a poll query marketing campaign asking voters to buck the statute throughout the 2026 statewide elections.
In a press release posted to his marketing campaign web site, Kennealy mentioned he helps measures to handle “illegal gun ownership” however plans to oppose proposals which can be “politically motivated” makes an attempt to infringe on constitutional rights.
“The advocates of a referendum question that would overturn (the law) collected over 100,000 signatures, enough to suspend enforcement of the law until it could be decided by voters in 2026. In response, Maura Healey said ‘I know better’ and used a procedural tactic to put the law into effect immediately. I will never act that way as your governor. I will be supporting the effort to repeal (the law),” Kennealy mentioned.
A coalition of gun teams collected greater than 100,000 signatures final yr to put a poll query earlier than voters in 2026 asking them to repeal a regulation they’ve argued unconstitutionally reduces the rights of gun possession to “mere privileges.”
The variety of signatures the teams gathered would have been sufficient to droop the regulation till the election subsequent yr. However Gov. Maura Healey, who plans to run for reelection, used her government powers to implement the statute by declaring it an emergency measure.
Toby Leary, the proprietor of Cape Gun Works and head of the marketing campaign to repeal the regulation, mentioned he’s “thrilled that Mike is supporting our efforts.”
“To win this ballot question, we need all the support we can get,” Leary mentioned in a press release to the Herald. “We welcome all support. Who knows, after Healey’s flip-flops on spending and utility costs this week, maybe she will see the light and support our constitutional rights.”
A gaggle of gun management advocates launched their very own effort earlier this week to persuade voters to maintain the regulation in place. The Vote Sure for a Secure Massachusetts marketing campaign mentioned shedding the “vital piece of legislation would be a threat to public safety.”
Ruth Zakarin, the chair of the marketing campaign Vote Sure for a Secure Massachusetts and government director of the Massachusetts Coalition to Forestall Gun Violence, didn’t reply to a Herald inquiry Thursday.
However in a press release earlier this week, Zakarin requested voters to “stop the repeal of these important regulations.”
“We owe it to our communities — and our children — to do everything we can to protect them from gun violence. In order to protect our children, we must protect this critically important legislation,” she mentioned.
Kennealy backs U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in Worcester
Kennealy “praised” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who participated within the controversial arrest of a girl as a crowd of protestors, which included a neighborhood metropolis councilor, tried to dam the motion.
He described the actions of the gang as “dangerous interference.”
“We should be working with federal officials — not against them — to get violent criminals off our streets,” he mentioned. “The Healey administration’s unwillingness to coordinate with federal law enforcement is contributing to the spread of misinformation, which further enflames tensions and puts hard-working police in harm’s way. I won’t stand by while law enforcement is demonized for doing their job.”
Throughout a radio look final week, Healey mentioned the photographs and the movies of the arrest had been “disturbing” however cautioned individuals towards “rushing to judgment.”
“Some in the crowd moved on law enforcement. You cannot move on police. You can’t attack police. I don’t know the circumstances of why this young woman was taken in,” Healey mentioned.
U.S. Division of Homeland Safety’s Tricia McLaughlin recognized the girl federal immigration authorities arrested as Ferreira de Oliveira, who they mentioned had been beforehand charged with assault and battery on a pregnant individual.
McLaughlin didn’t disclose when and the place de Oliveira was beforehand arrested.
Worcester police additionally arrested de Oliveira’s 16-year-old daughter and a candidate for Worcester Faculty Committee who allegedly tried to intervene within the altercation.
The state of affairs drew condemnation from U.S. Legal professional for Massachusetts Leah Foley, who mentioned the “interference with ICE operations around Massachusetts has been disturbing, to say the least.”
However some native officers in Worcester and Democrats in Massachusetts have blasted the arrest as one other instance of a hostile crackdown by the Trump administration on immigrants who entered the US illegally.
Healey mentioned regulation enforcement “can, must, and should work together to investigate and apprehend those who are committing criminal activities.”
“That has always been my position,” she mentioned on GBH Information. “I’ve also been clear that we are not a sanctuary state. I’ve also been clear that some of what I’ve seen when I look at the actions of ICE around the country is really disturbing and problematic, and we see it play out in court right now.”
