As they eagerly await fall and hunting seasons, Bay State hunters face a brand-new, brutally tough anti-gun law. Massachusetts HB 4885, called “An Act Modernizing Gun Laws,” went into effect Aug. 1. It includes restrictions on the type of firearms and magazines allowed, and a requirement for all hunters to obtain a firearm identification card (FID), among other measures. But that’s not all: Nonresidents may not hunt Massachusetts unless they possess identification similar to the Massachusetts FID, which, of course, is not possible because most states do not carry such ridiculous regulations.
In a report released July 25, NRA-ILA called the 116-page anti-gun measure “one of the most extreme gun-control bills in the country” and vowed to fight it on behalf of Bay State gun owners. “NRA will be challenging this law to restore the rights guaranteed to Bay Staters by the U.S. Constitution,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Randy Kozuch, in a report released by the NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum Aug. 6.
Massachusetts HB 4885 was a “compromise” debated by the state House and Senate. The entire process occurred behind closed doors, and the legislation advanced in one day, on July 18. (The House vote was 124-33 with 2 N/V, and the Senate vote was 35-5, which displays little “compromise” among any parties in either chamber. Gun owners can be excused if they think Massachusetts simply doesn’t care about their concerns regarding transparency or bipartisanship.) The measure was signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey on July 25. All along, gun-rights lobbyists and sporting and conservation groups complained there was little to no time to express their concerns. In a report released July 29, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus complained that it and “other sporting-conservation groups could not discuss the final draft of legislation with legislators or staff prior to its passing.” Despite push-back by the Massachusetts Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, the Gun Owners’ Action League (GOAL) of Westboro, Mass., and the CSF, the measure sailed across Healey’s desk on July 25.
Gun owners have numerous concerns with the new law.
As of Aug. 1, a resident may hunt only if he or she obtains a Massachusetts Firearm Identification Card (FID). To acquire one an individual must contract for training with an instructor approved by the Massachusetts Colonel of State Police, complete a live-fire exercise and purchase and register a firearm that is not prohibited in the state. “Ammunition feeding devices,” otherwise known as magazines whether they are tubes beneath a shotgun barrel or steel boxes inserted into the action of a rifle, are restricted to only 10 rounds unless they were manufactured before Sept. 13, 1994 (the date the infamous Clinton Gun Ban went into effect). Only persons 21 and older may own a semi-automatic rifle or shotgun. The new law also expands definitions for modifications and parts that convert a semi-auto firearm into a full-auto firearm and bans them; it prohibits so-called “ghost guns”; and it expands the list of places where carrying a firearm is banned to include government buildings, polling places and schools.
Never mind that it’s hard enough to find a place to shoot in the Bay State. Last we checked it’s impossible to find an instructor qualified by the colonel of state police because the training regimen to obtain a Massachusetts FID required by this new law has yet to be established. It’s also impossible to prove a magazine was made before September 1994 because such devices are not marked with dates of manufacture.
But that’s not all. According to the new law: “A nonresident who is at least 18 years of age may possess rifles and shotguns that are not large capacity or semi-automatic and ammunition therefor if the nonresident has a permit, card or license issued from their state of residence which has substantially similar requirements to those of the Commonwealth for a firearm identification card as determined by the colonel of the state police … .” Got that? Nonresident hunters may not possess a firearm within Massachusetts unless their state has similar laws—and, of course, most do not. So much for nonresident hunting in Massachusetts. So much for the money they may spend on hunting licenses, which helps pay for state wildlife conservation efforts.
Even muzzleloaders are affected. GOAL, which calls Healey a “civil rights wrecking machine,” warns on its website: “The exemption for possessing the ammunition for antique firearms/muzzle loaders without a license has been repealed! It is our understanding that possession of black powder (or substitutes), priming caps, musket balls, mini-balls, etc. would require an LTC or FID to purchase and possess. It appears that a non-licensed individual can own the gun, but not anything that would make it fire.”
Massachusetts HB 4885, “An Act Modernizing Gun Laws,” is harassing gun control writ large, and will be fought by a number of organizations, not the least of which is the NRA-ILA.
“With Governor Healey’s signature, Massachusetts has enacted one of the most egregious and freedom-restricting laws in the history of the Commonwealth,” said Randy Kozuch. “We are thankful for the bipartisan group of legislators who stood against gun registries and the banning of commonly owned firearms and standard magazines. NRA will be challenging this law to restore the rights guaranteed to Bay Staters by the U.S. Constitution.”
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