A bill that would reform gun laws in Massachusetts is being debated in the state House of Representatives, prompting some local residents to express skepticism as to whether the new laws will actually improve firearm safety in light of recent outbreaks of gun violence all over the country.
Bill H2259, presented by Rep. George Peterson, R-Grafton, on Jan. 27, would prompt a complete overhaul of the current firearm laws in an attempt to simplify them. Measures taken would include decreasing the number of license types available from four to one and creating 13 categories of restraints on gun ownership and handling.
It would also prevent children under the age of 18 from handling a fully automatic weapon and would only allow them to handle a machine gun in the presence of a licensed adult.
School of Law Professor Sean Kealy said the sections of Chapter 140 of Massachusetts General Law that deal with firearm licenses are long overdue for reform.
“The gun laws in the state are very difficult to deal with,” he said. “Chapter 140 is a statute that is very difficult to understand; it isn’t user friendly and could really use some changing to make the process simpler, more predictable and more uniform throughout the state.”
Kealy said acquiring a firearm license under the current system is heavily dependent on local authority, specifically on local police chiefs.
Under the proposed legislation, discretion would be taken out of the of police chiefs’ hands. But Kealy said this could have negative consequences.
“You might have certain situations where the police chief may know the best solution to the problem of whether the person should receive a license,” Kealy said. “Taking away that kind of discretion may be the exact wrong thing to do.”
Kealy said the bill includes some useful features for the simplification of a convoluted set of laws, but he doesn’t think the bill will pass in its current form.
“I’m pretty confident that it will stay in committee at least in this session,” he said.
The age restriction proposed in the bill is a response to a 2008 incident in which an eight-year-old boy was killed while handling a machine gun at a gun show in Westfield.
Steven Hathaway, the director of training at the Massachusetts Firearms School in Framingham, said this component of the bill is an example of “the impulse people have to hastily make new legislation in response to an isolated incident.”
“Nothing like [the 2008 incident] had ever happened before in the Commonwealth and there is no reason to believe it will happen again,” he said, adding that he believes the restriction of minors from using automatic weapons is unnecessary because it affects such a small portion of the firearm-wielding community.
However, Hathaway also said gun law reform is necessary because the current laws are too complicated for residents to understand and follow.
“There are a number of laws in Massachusetts concerning firearms that are contradictory to each other,” he said. “They leave it to the law-abiding citizen in a handicapped situation because there are so many laws that are contradictory.”
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Luke Parlin said he thinks the consolidation of gun legislation is necessary, but that he doubts the long-term effectiveness of the bill.
“I think that no amount of gun legislation will make it easier for police to control [gun-related incidents],” he said. “There is a lot of parallel between gun legislation and anti-piracy measures taken by media distributers. You end up punishing the people who aren’t intending to break the law in the first place. Someone who is going to use the gun for nefarious purposesis going to get one through whatever means necessary, regardless of legislation.”
CAS sophomore Emily Shoov said she would support the legislation if it implements stricter limitations on gun ownership.
“As long as there are still points that people need to clear to own guns, I’m okay with new legislation,” Shoov said. “Those who want to own guns legally won’t have to work so hard.”
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