Massachusetts lawmakers reach compromise deal on gun bill

Massachusetts House and Senate negotiators have released a compromise version of a sweeping gun bill that supporters say builds on the state’s existing gun laws, including a crackdown on difficult-to-trace “ghost guns,” while safeguarding the rights of gun owners

Massachusetts Gun Bill (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Massachusetts House and Senate negotiators have released a compromise version of a sweeping gun bill that supporters say builds on the state's existing gun laws, including a crackdown on difficult to trace “ghost guns," while safeguarding the rights of gun owners.

The bill — which must be given final approval by both chambers before being sent to Gov. Maura Healey for her signature — is part of an effort by the state to respond to a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that citizens have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.

On ghost guns, the bill would toughen oversight for those who own privately made, unserialized firearms that are largely untraceable. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice reported recovering 25,785 ghost guns in domestic seizures.

The bill would expand the state's extreme risk protective order law — also known as the red flag law — by authorizing health care professionals and others who interact regularly with individuals in crisis to petition a court to suspend the individual's right to possess or carry a gun to protect them and others.

The bill would also prohibit the possession of firearms by non-law enforcement individuals at schools, polling locations and government buildings and impose strict penalties for the possession of modification devices such as Glock switches that supporters of the law say convert an otherwise legal firearm into a fully automatic firearm.

“While the commonwealth’s existing gun laws have proven to be effective in preventing gun violence compared to other states, relative success is never a cause for complacency,” Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano said.

The bill would also require those applying for a license to carry firearms to demonstrate a basic understanding of firearm safety principles through a standardized exam and live fire training and provide local licensing authorities with relevant mental health information of pending applicants.

District attorneys would be able to prosecute individuals who shoot at or near residential homes under the legislation, which would also ensure that dangerous individuals subject to harassment prevention orders no longer have access to firearms.

Gun rights advocates had criticized the Senate, which approved their version of the bill in February, for failing to hold a separate public hearing given the differences between their bill and the House bill approved last year.

Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka said the bill builds on the state's efforts to combat gun violence while still respecting the law.

“By incorporating the viewpoints of stakeholders across the state, this final bill positions us to save lives while respecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners,” Spilka said.