The Boston Globe is reporting that a challenge to Massachusetts’ sweeping new gun control law signed and enacted immediately by Democrat Gov. Maura Healey will be on the ballot in November 2026.
The legislation could face tough opposition and a strong potential for voter repeal. When the law was enacted, it ignited a massive grassroots effort which garnered more than 90,000 signatures in a petition campaign spearheaded by the Civil Rights Coalition. The Globe said the Secretary of State’s office recorded 78,707 “allowed signatures,” which is more than twice the 37,286 valid signatures required tok place it on the ballot.
The newspaper quoted firearms retailer Toby Leary at Cape Gun Works, noting, “It was just a tremendous grassroots effort by the people in Massachusetts to make sure their voice was heard when their government won’t listen to them.”
The Globe also learned from Massachusetts GOP Chairwoman Amy Carnevale in October that the organization will help with the public information campaign to promote a “No” vote on the measure in two years.
No doubt other pro-Second Amendment groups will be part of the campaign, including the Gun Owners Action League. GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace told TGM via email, “They still keep parroting that it is all about ‘ghost guns’ and there is very little in the bill that will affect criminals building guns. We actually offered alternative language that would have hammered prohibited persons in possession of any gun part. I was told by a lead senator that it would be too difficult to separate the good guys from the bad guys in this bill.”
But the Globe notes the law will be supported by gun control groups opposed to the ballot measure. Erroneously described as “gun violence prevention groups” who support legislation mislabeled as “gun safety measures,” opposition is likely to come from the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, and similar anti-gun-rights organizations.
Back in early October, Wallace told TGM the new law has “created chaos.” At the time, he stated, “Massachusetts residents have no idea what to do. Nonresidents cannot bring any gun in.”
He said the restriction applies to anyone who may have planned to visit the state for competition, hunting or other legitimate activities. It especially is tough for hunters because they aren’t allowed to bring in any kind of semiautomatic shotgun, he asserted.
GOAL has already filed at least one federal lawsuit challenging the licensing and training mandates included in the new law. Wallace predicted it will take multiple legal actions, each challenging different sections of the law, to correct what he called an “insane” situation, although if the new law is rejected by Bay State voters in 2026, that would probably change the situation.
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