A coalition pushing a 2026 poll query that would repeal a gun regulation Gov. Maura Healey signed final yr raised greater than $136,000 in 4 months however drew roughly a 3rd of its money from a gun producer that fled Massachusetts in 2023, based on state information.
Supporters of the trouble face an extended street earlier than Massachusetts residents hit the polls subsequent yr to resolve whether or not to peel again a regulation that Beacon Hill Democrats have heralded as a measure to avoid wasting lives however critics argue trample on elementary Second Modification rights.
Toby Leary, the top of the coalition and proprietor of Cape Gun Works in Hyannis, stated he has been making plenty of “personal phone calls” to solicit donations and speaking to firearms producers who could chip in bigger quantities of cash.
“A lot of people have pledged monthly commitments and we’re going to continue to do that right up until the election,” he advised the Herald Friday. “That’ll fund the fight and the education of the public and making people aware that their rights should never be so fragile that an elected body in any state can just vote them away.”
The Civil Rights Coalition logged 876 particular person donations between Aug. 26, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2024, based on marketing campaign finance data filed this previous week.
Smith & Wesson, a gun firm that left Massachusetts in 2023 due to legislative proposals that will prohibit it from manufacturing sure weapons, handed the coalition $50,000, its largest single donation, state data confirmed.
Leary stated the corporate wished to “step up and help” after dealing with “the hostility of government towards the industry.”
“I’m actually out at SHOT Show right now in Las Vegas and I personally thanked the CEO, Mark Smith, and thanked him for the generous donation,” Leary stated by cellphone. “He was very happy to help and said, ‘keep fighting.’ So that was the impression from Smith & Wesson. They’re very eager to help the cause here in Massachusetts.”
Different prime donations to the coalition embrace $5,000 from Timothy Hickey of Truro, who Leary stated is a buyer at his gun store, and $2,500 every from Bachant Armaments Company of Lakeville and Carleton Burr of Marion, based on state data.
The group had greater than $90,000 readily available as of Dec. 31 and spent greater than $45,000 between August and December, based on state data.
Money largely flowed to consultants like Wendy Wakeman, a longtime Republican strategist, and Tuesday Associates, a Massachusetts-based political consulting agency based by former Herald columnist Holly Robichaud, state information reveals.
Leary stated the coalition is simply getting began with “fundraising, education, and continuing the grassroots activism.”
“We’re going to be doing some educational seminars around the state, and the donations that you just mentioned are going to fund that over the next year and a half. As we get closer to the election, we’ll ramp up our messaging and our presence, and we’re going to run it like a regular congressional campaign or any type of political campaign that you see,” he stated.
Gov. Maura Healey endorses in race for DNC chair
Gov. Maura Healey endorsed Ben Wikler for chair of the Democratic Nationwide Committee, calling the top of the Wisconsin Democratic Occasion the “best choice” to guide the nationwide group ahead.
Healey, who has constructed up her nationwide profile over the previous yr by serving as a prime surrogate to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential run, stated Democrats want an “innovative strategy and organizing” machine to ship “real change for working people” within the nation.
“Ben knows how to craft a winning strategy, build an organizing machine with record resources, and deliver change for working people in urban, suburban, and rural areas alike. We need that nationwide, and I hope Massachusetts Democrats join me in supporting him,” Healey stated in a press release offered by Wikler’s marketing campaign.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers additionally threw their help behind Wikler.
Mills stated the Democratic Nationwide Committee wants a “battle-tested leader.”
“If we want to embrace the fight for working people and unite our party in the goal of winning change for working people’s lives, I implore my fellow Democrats to elect Ben the next chair of the DNC,” Mills stated in a press release.
