MA Gun Advocates Clash Over Senate-Passed Bill

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor After the Senate passed their version of the controversial gun bill - which when cre

After the Senate passed their version of the controversial gun bill - which when created was considered the most strict gun bill in the nation - gun owners and advocates had a mix of opinions.

The Gun Owners Action League - who was originally opposed to the bill and has worked with the Massachusetts legislature to change some of the amendments in both the Senate and House versions of the bill - has gone from strongly opposed to the original bill to very much in favor of the new version of the bill, something that has some gun owners upset.

“Amendment #6 corrected the bill to prevent the suitability clause from being applied to FID cards,” said GOAL in a post on their website. “The Senate saved this amendment for last, after hours of debate on the other 62 amendments a roll call vote was taken and the amendment passed by a 28-10 vote. GOAL would like to thank all of the members of the Senate that stood with us and for our Second Amendment civil rights.”

GOAL is now calling on members to call their state representatives and tell them that they should support the bill. The bill now move to a second vote in the House for approval.

Not Even A Gun Law Anymore

While GOAL and some gun owners view this bill as a second amendment victory, others are very confused, saying that the bill in its current form in not a gun bill because it is dominated by school and mental health mandates.

Rather than creating a piece of legislation that meant something, some advocates feel that this bill is just another in a long list of gun laws that has been created in the state that will ultimately confuse everyone.

“This is not a gun bill anymore and it was never a gun violence bill,” said Chris Pinto, a member of the Worcester Republican City Committee. “This bill has done nothing to address criminals and as it stands right now, has hardly anything about guns in it. I don’t consider this bill a victory. I’m pleased that gun owners were not abused by this bill but adding more ridiculousness to preexisting gun laws has me pretty upset.”

Bringing Common Sense Back

The provision allowing police chiefs more discretion in issuing gun permits has been one of the most widely contested portions of the gun law bill, with many gun owners and advocates finding this portion of the bill to be the largest deal breaker.

In the House version of the bill, alterations were made to require police chiefs to prove some sort of valid reasoning as to why a particular applicant should be denied a license, a decision that could be fought in the court systems. The Senate version of the bill has no such provisions, prompting many in support of stricter gun laws to be upset.

"I've spent my career working to make communities safe and fighting to curb gun violence. I was surprised and disappointed that during the debate on the gun bill the Senate removed a critical provision giving police chiefs the ability to keep guns out of the hands of unsuitable individuals,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. “We cannot let the NRA stop common-sense gun control laws in Massachusetts like they have been able to do in Washington. If they do, we lose an important opportunity to make our communities safer and address the devastating toll that gun violence has had on our Commonwealth."

Related Slideshow: The Influence of Gun Money in New England States

New Data from The Sunlight Foundation shows state-by-state breakdowns for donations to groups on both sides of the gun debate. The money went toward candidates, political parties, and political action committees (PACs), but doesn't include donations to independent or so-called “super PACs”.

See how much money went to candidates in each of the New England States in the slides below.

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