Two years ago, Massachusetts lawmakers passed "an act modernizing firearm laws." The bill was extensive, and it took aim at everything from ghost guns to devices that arguably convert semi-automatic firearms into automatic machine guns. Now, though, voters have a chance to shoot it down.
Ballot Question 9 is a referendum on the law, which critics have been calling overkill that overly burdens firearm owners. Advocates, meanwhile, argue the bill modernizes aging gun laws for a new era, while better protecting residents in a state with one of the lowest firearm death rates in the country. WAMC's Molly Anderson broke down both sides with Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos on Northeast Notebook Live.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Editor's note: This conversation is lightly edited for clarity.
Anderson: So earlier this month, you stopped by to talk [Massachusetts] ballot questions with [Berkshire Bureau Chief] Josh Landes, and toward the very end, you tried to summarize Question 9.
Paleologopoulos: I did. It was a buzzer beater. We had nine questions to get through, and some were bigger than others.
Anderson: Yeah, but as you've been finding out in your own reporting, Question 9 is a big deal itself.
Paleologopoulos: It absolutely is. So, for context, this gun law arrived back in 2024 after a lot of debate, and also two years after the Supreme Court struck down a fairly old law dealing with concealed carrying in New York — that's its own story — with one of the takeaways being that the Supreme Court appears to be primed to strike down similar state regulations. In fact, challenges over assault weapon bans are now in their sights. There also may very well be several more gun puns in the story, so buckle up. Regardless, given the proliferation of 3D-printed untraceable ghost guns and other ongoing issues, the Massachusetts Legislature decided to update what were already considered some of the strictest gun laws in the country, and they did. The final product is not a short read, and given additional regulations, permitting requirements, and what the Civil Rights Coalition Group considers delays and ambiguities in the act, opponents have taken issue with a lot of it.
Anderson: Okay, so it's safe to say that they did something about it
Paleologopoulos: Yes, absolutely, the opponents did. And how? I spoke with Toby Leary, who chairs the Civil Rights Coalition. He's also co-founder of Cape Gun Works in Hyannis. Within five weeks, he says 100,000 signatures for what would become Question 9 were gathered. Question 9 is a referendum. Voting yes would keep the new regulations in place, while a no would shoot them down. There's another pun. One of Leary's biggest arguments for the repeal [is], he claims, that under previous state law and federal law, a lot of what the modern bill does best is technically already being done. There's also the fundamental issue of a state adding restrictions to a constitutional right. Here's Leary:
Leary: Government doesn't have the privilege to erode our law, our rights. If we were intellectually honest and say, "Would we be OK with other rights being treated the way the Second Amendment has been treated?" I think everyone would vote no on nine, right? You would never allow any other enumerated right to suffer the way the Second Amendment has suffered. And it is not a second-class right. It was number two for a reason. Our founders looked at it as that important to society.
Anderson: And on the flip side, what are proponents of keeping the law saying?
Paleologopoulos: Right. So, full disclosure, Mr. Leary was actually at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for a forum on Question 9. Representing the pro-legislation side was Megan DesAutels, who is the campaign coordinator for Yes on Nine for a Safe Massachusetts. The for arguments are largely the same ones we heard from largely Democratic state lawmakers when the bill passed. The bill expands the state's red flag laws. It better stipulates how someone who had their gun license revoked can't obtain a new one while what's known as an extreme risk protection order involving them is in place; who can seek such an order was also expanded in hopes of reducing domestic violence-related shootings and suicide attempts. Also, new language for penalizing ghost guns and more. Here's DesAutels.
DesAutels: I think the critical updates to technology, so looking at ghost guns, 3D-printed guns, how can we address those technologies? That's what happens in this bill. Also, what comes to mind is ERPOs, the Extreme Risk Protection Orders. Having your healthcare providers, your mental health physicians, your educators be able to have a say in keeping home safe is crucial. And I would hate to see that part of it go.
Anderson: And any sense of where things might be heading come Election Day?
Paleologopoulos: So it's not easy to say for ballot questions. Usually polling for ballot questions is sometimes few and far between. Plus, Molly, I don't know if you recall this. There's nine questions this year, so polling is going to be fun no matter what. But a UMass Amherst-WCVB poll tried to tackle just that. The poll released in August showed 48% of Bay Staters being for upholding the gun law, with an additional 22% saying they will probably vote yes. 13% are solid noes, while 9% are leaning towards the repeal.
