FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7/18/2024
Boston, MA - A coalition of gun violence prevention advocates, including the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, GIFFORDS, Brady, Everytown for Gun Safety and the Massachusetts chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, applaud the Massachusetts Legislature for passing An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws in both chambers today.
“This bill is a giant step forward for public safety in Massachusetts. We need comprehensive solutions to address the many types of gun violence that plague the state and the country. ‘An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws’ includes some of the strongest measures we have to address this epidemic, including common-sense provisions like prohibiting the carrying of firearms in polling places and prohibiting the sale of unserialized, untraceable ghost guns. And it allows policy makers to build on this progress by creating data centers for use in further firearms policy research. Brady thanks House Speaker Mariano, Senate President Spilka, Representative Day, Senator Creem, and every legislator who voted to pass this critical bill and keep Massachuetts communities safe.”
“There is no one policy that will solve the issue of gun violence, which is why we are thrilled to see this comprehensive bill passed today. We commend Senate President Spilka, Speaker Mariano, Senate Majority Leader Creem, and Chair Day for their steadfast commitment to keeping our communities safer. The gun violence we have seen both locally and nationally underscore the urgency of taking action, and we are grateful to our state leaders, our member organizations, and the many survivors and activists who came together to ensure the passage of this critically important bill.”
– Ruth Zakarin, CEO of the MA Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence
“When I joined Speaker Mariano and Senate President Spilka last month, alongside fellow survivors and advocates, they reaffirmed their long-standing commitment to addressing the evolving challenge of gun violence in Massachusetts. Today they followed through on that commitment and because of this bill, lives will be saved. I am grateful for the Speaker and Senate President’s leadership and I want to thank Majority Leader Creem, Chairman Day and their staff for their tireless efforts throughout this process to get this important bill across the finish line. I look forward to Governor Healey signing this bill into law.”
– Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords
“Stop Handgun Violence is grateful to the House and Senate leadership, Speaker Ron Mariano and President Karen Spilka, for their commitment to gun safety. An Act Modernizing Firearms is a comprehensive bill and we commend the committee chairs for reaching consensus. H.4885 will save lives and continue to make our families and communities safer in the Commonwealth.”
– John E. Rosenthal, founder and chair of Stop Handgun Violence
“The passage of this comprehensive and innovative gun violence prevention bill represents a major victory for the gun safety movement in Massachusetts and is another critical step towards keeping the Commonwealth’s rate of gun deaths at the lowest in the country,” said “Massachusetts is proof that strong gun safety laws save lives, and we’re incredibly grateful to our gunsense lawmakers for coming together this year to make them even stronger. We look forward to seeing Governor Healey sign this into law once it hits her desk to ensure that our communities are further protected from gun violence.”
-Anne Thalheimer, Everytown Survivor Fellow & volunteer with the Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action
An Act Modernizing Firearms Laws will:
Ban untraceable ghost guns.
Strengthen the Commonwealth’s firearms licensing laws.
Ban devices and modifications that turn semi-automatic weapons into fully-automatic machine guns.
Ensure gun dealers are inspected regularly and accurately.
Prohibit the carrying of firearms in polling places and government buildings.
Update the Commonwealth’s assault weapons ban and codify existing prohibitions on certain assault weapons into state law.
Update and expand the Commonwealth’s extreme-risk protection order law.
Other important policies addressing issues such as studying funding opportunities for community violence intervention, gun violence data collection, and more.
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