After hours of speeches by state House members on both sides of the issue, lawmakers Tuesday voted 120-38 — with two representatives not voting — to approve a bill to overhaul Massachusetts firearms laws.
The 125-page package of gun control measures, first introduced in June, seeks to stem the flow of illegal firearms into the state and target so-called ghost guns, among other things, and has received praise from gun control supporters as well as the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, while drawing the ire of GOP politicians, gun groups and trainers, and police chiefs.
The original bill filed in June by Joint Judiciary Committee Chair Michael S. Day sparked loud pushback from gun groups and a protest from Senate Democrats, who fought with the House over which legislative committee should hold a public hearing on it.
The House action, however, does not mean a quick resolution to the legislation. The Senate is still working behind the scenes on its own version of the bill, and has not provided a timeline on its effort.
The House wanted the bill to be handled by the Judiciary Committee, citing the fallout from a 2022 Supreme Court decision expanding gun rights across the country and the committee’s history of acting on bills related to court decisions. The Senate wanted the bill to be heard in the Public Safety Committee, which has historically considered bills related to firearms and gun control.
The House ultimately brought the bill to the floor for a final vote by pushing it through the chamber’s powerful Committee on Ways and Means instead of holding a hearing in a joint committee made up of House and Senate members, as is the typical process for a bill like this one.
“This effort is nothing new in Massachusetts. Here, we regularly, revisit that firearm laws and update them to reflect the realities of the modern day,” bill sponsor Representative Michael Day, a Stoneham Democrat, said. “Since July 1, 90 of our families in Massachusetts have been forever shattered because of shootings. Ninety separate shootings since July 1. Not a morning goes by when we don’t hear about a shooting and avoidable death.”
While most of the 49 amendments were withdrawn or rejected, lawmakers did vote unanimously to accept an amendment to allow off-duty police officers to carry guns in sensitive places like schools, government buildings, and polling places. They also adopted an amendment that would exempt state-owned public land (where people can hunt) from a proposed ban on carrying guns in “sensitive places,” which includes government buildings.
Republicans on Wednesday argued that House leaders pushed the bill through too fast, and that it will come with financial costs that haven’t been considered. They pushed for the House to include a “fiscal note” with the bill, as is required for bills that will cost more than $100,000. A fiscal note is an estimate of the costs, savings, revenue gain, or revenue loss that may come from the implementation of a bill.
The last time the Legislature passed significant gun legislation was in 2018, when they approved the state’s “red flag law” empowering courts to take firearms away from people thought to be a danger to themselves or others.
The bill the House passed Wednesday proposes:
The bill now heads to the Senate, which has yet to file its own version. An aide to majority leader Cindy Creem said last week it’s unclear when a bill would be drafted.
In a statement last week, a spokesperson for Senate President Karen E. Spilka said the Senate “will review this new House bill as well as the many other gun safety bills filed in the Senate and the House this session,” and that she aims to get a bill onto Governor Maura Healey’s desk this legislative session, which ends Jan. 7, 2025 (though the last day of formal session is July 31, 2024).
Samantha J. Gross can be reached at samantha.gross@globe.com. Follow her @samanthajgross.
