Anti-Gun Violence Org Calls On Legislature to Tighten MA Gun Laws

Thursday, November 07, 2013

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Today, The Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence urged the Massachusetts Legislature to pass effective legislation that will close gaps in the state’s gun laws at the organization’s first-ever State House Action Day. The Coalition is made up of more than 30 organizations across the state working together to strengthen the state’s gun laws and save lives.

The Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence was formed in February 2013 after the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As an umbrella organization, the Coalition brings together over thirty organizations and institutions across Massachusetts that are united in their desire to end the epidemic of gun violence that plagues our communities and takes the lives of so many of our citizens.

Action Day drew more than 200 people to hear from gun violence survivors, and to meet with legislators to seek their support for stronger laws. The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Safety & Homeland Security is expected to release new gun violence prevention legislation in the coming weeks for consideration by the Legislature in early 2014.

"Gun violence kills more than 30,000 Americans every year, including more than 2,800 children and teenagers,” said Janet Goldenberg, Co-chair of Temple Beth Elohim Congregants to Prevent Gun Violence, a Coalition member organization. “That's 8 kids a day, a classroom of kids every three days. We're better than that, and we can do better than that. Although Massachusetts has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, and the second-lowest gun-death rate of any state in the nation as a result, there are still significant gaps that contribute to needless deaths and injuries every year, whether homicides, suicides or accidents. We urge the Committee to propose a meaningful bill that will close these gaps in our state gun laws and save lives."

Ann Krantz of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America feels that today’s Action Day will give everyday citizens the opportunity to make their voices heard and to shape policy. “The nation’s senators in Washington DC heard our voices earlier this year, but they chose not to listen. Organizations across the country have now turned their attention to the states to pass common sense gun policies that will keep all Americans safe from preventable gun violence and change the culture around guns." 

The Coalition is urging the Committee and the Legislature as a whole to ensure that the following priorities are addressed in any legislation that is put forward for consideration:

- Require a background check at the point of sale every time a gun is sold, including private sales, sales at gun shows and over the Internet.

- Limit Handgun sales to one per month in order to deter straw purchasing and make it harder for gun traffickers to acquire multiple guns in a single transaction.

- Share records of adjudicated commitments for mental health and substance abuse with the National Instant Check System as required by Federal law.

- Expand the existing suitability standard that currently applies only to the issuance of a License to Carry to the issuance of FID cards as well.

- Require law enforcement authorities to attempt to determine, every time a gun is involved in an injury or death, who owned the gun and where the gun came from; to maintain that data in a statewide database, and to share that data with public health researchers, policy makers, other law enforcement agencies and the general public.

“We cannot wait for the federal government to act on this critical issue,” said Representative David Linsky (D-Natick). “Massachusetts may have some of the toughest gun laws, but there is still a great deal that needs to be done to stop gun violence in the Commonwealth. After Newtown, I pledged to do everything I could to pass comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation this session. Every member of the Massachusetts Legislature should have the same goal: to stop further deaths from guns.”

“It has repeatedly been proven that states with stronger gun laws have fewer firearm fatalities and injuries,” said John Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence. “Urban-industrial Massachusetts has some of the most comprehensive gun laws and the second lowest gun fatality rate in the nation. We applaud the MA Legislature and Governor for making our state a national leader in gun violence prevention and strongly support their continued efforts to improve our state gun laws and save lives.”

Related Slideshow: Top New England Colleges According to Business Insider

See how New England colleges ranked in the latest Business Insider.

Below is the list of how the region's representatives stacked up against each other -- as well as how they fared overall.

Prev Next

#13 Wesleyan University

Overall Rank: 49

Location: Middletown, CT

Score: 2.73 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $47,244

Business Insider: "With roughly 2,900 undergraduates on a 316-acre campus overlooking the Conn. River, Wesleyan uses its small size to provide highly personal faculty support and customizable programs of study to students.

Business Insider's rating is scored out of 5 and is based on the results of a 1,000-person reader survey that asked how much each college will help students succeed in life. Tuition was used as a tiebreaker, with cheaper tuition pushing a school to a higher spot.

Prev Next

#12 Boston University

Overall Rank: 45

Location: Boston, MA

Score: 2.79 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $44,910

Business Insider: "A concrete campus located in the bustling city of Boston, BU has nearly 100 study abroad programs in 23 countries, an active social media presence with more than 200 Facebook pages and groups, and 20-plus NCAA Division I varsity sports, including a multiple NCAA national championship-winning hockey team."

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#11 Wellesley College

Overall Rank: 44

Location: Wellesley, MA

Score: 2.86 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $43,544

Business Insider: "Madeleine Albright, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Diane Sawyer are among the nearly 37,000 living alumni of Wellesley College, an institute with an unwavering commitment to empowering women to make a difference in the world. Students are central to decision-making at this liberal arts college: They serve on major committees of the board of trustees, participate in faculty search, and contribute to strategic planning."

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#10 Middlebury College

Overall Rank: 40

Location: Middlebury, VT

Score: 2.94 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $57,075

Business Insider: "Renowned for leadership in language instruction and environmental studies, Middlebury emphasizes close interaction between students and faculty as the core of its education. All courses are taught by faculty members, rather than graduate assistants, and 65% of classes contain fewer than 20 students."

Prev Next

#9 Tufts University

Overall Rank: 37

Location: Medford, MA

Score: 3.07 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $46,598

Business Insider: "Tufts University encourages students to pursue interdisciplinary studies at its two colleges, the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. An overwhelming 90% of students are enrolled in the first, which boasts a liberal arts college feel in a research-rich environment."

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#8 Boston College

Overall Rank: 36

Location: Boston, MA

Score: 3.09 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $46,088

Business Insider: "Boston College jumps four spots on our list, thanks in part to its tremendous growth in recent years. Undergraduate applications have soared 75% over the past decade, and voluntary giving by alumni has increased the university's endowment to $1.9 billion."

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#7 Amherst College

Overall Rank: 27

Location: Amherst, MA

Score: 3.31 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $58,744

Business Insider: "Ranked the second-best liberal arts school in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report, Amherst College climbed four spots on our list this year."

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#6 Williams College

Overall Rank: 23

Location: Williamstown, MA

Score: 3.40 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $46,600

Business Insider: "Williams was number 27 on last year's list, but our readers voted it up to No. 23 this time around. A top liberal arts college, Williams is set to host its own TEDx conference for students and faculty in January 2014."

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#5 Brown University

Overall Rank: 20

Location: Providence, RI

Score: 3.60 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $45,612

Business Insider: "Brown is known for being the most individualistic of the Ivies, and with some of the happiest students."

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#4 Dartmouth College

Overall Rank: 9

Location: Hanover, NH

Score: 3.96 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $46,752

Business Insider: "At 4,200 enrolled undergraduate students, Dartmouth is the smallest of the Ivies. But its size has no bearing on the prestige of its programs; the school was ranked No. 1 in undergraduate teaching courses by U.S. News & World Report for the fourth year in a row."

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#3 Yale University

Overall Rank: 5

Location: New Haven, CT

Score: 4.25 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $44,125

Business Insider: "Our readers were not shy in praising Yale's hardworking professors: 'Yale is still the best ranking... school thanks to it[s] high profile faculty," one respondent pointed out. 'It's them who keep Yale in the top.'"

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#2 Harvard University

Overall Rank: 3

Location: Cambridge, MA

Score: 4.42 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $42,292

Business Insider: "For the third year in a row, Harvard has held fast at No. 3. Harvard's most popular majors (or "concentrations," as they're called there) are economics and political science, and the Crimson school has been hailed for its think-outside-the-box approach to learning."

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#1 MIT

Overall Rank: 1

Location: Cambridge, MA

Score: 4.5 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $42,050

Business Insider: "The tech school admits fewer than 9 percent of applicants, some of whom have gone on to achieve prestigious awards like Nobel Prizes, National Medals of Science, MacArthur Grants, and National Medals of Technology and Innovation."