MA Gun Advocates Demand Rewrite of Gun Violence Reduction Bill

Sunday, June 08, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

A call to arms has been declared by the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) in an effort to stop the current form of House Bill #4121 - labeled “An Act Relative to the Reduction of Gun Violence” – from progressing any further.

GOAL has been urging anyone who agrees with them to call, email, fax, or mail their opposition to the Senators and House members that are involved with the process of this bill in hopes that the bill in its current state will be pulled from the table.

“This bill is on a fast track right now,” said Jim Wallace, Executive Director of GOAL. “We are ultimately looking to rewrite the bill so that it fits the wants and needs of everyone. But if they don’t want a rewrite, then we will do everything in our power to kill the bill.”

The bill is currently in the hands of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security and will be voted on by the joint committee by noon on Saturday, according to GOAL. The bill was sponsored by House Speaker Robert DeLeo.

A Mutual Agreement

Wallace and the rest of GOAL is upset because they haven’t been as included in the bill crafting process as they had initially hoped. Rather than enlisting those more involved with gun ownership, regulations, and training, Wallace says that much of the bill was prepared by DeLeo and his committee, a group that doesn’t know much about the current gun laws.

“The speaker has relied on a commission rather than groups like us to craft this bill,” said Wallace. “At the recent hearing, they even admitted that they had very little knowledge of the current gun laws. When they testified and were asked to give evidence in regards to their suggestions, they admitted that they had none; I think that surprised everyone.”

Wallace is hoping that the current form of the bill will be taken off the table in the form of a new bill in which the concerns of everyone are addressed. Although a difficult proposition, Wallace believes that if all parties are able to sit down together, things will eventually work themselves out.

“I hope that we can have some discussions that will push this bill so that it can be something that everyone favors,” said Wallace. “Let’s put some language together so that we can go after the people who are recruiting and killing our kids. All this current bill does is pull us apart. Let’s get a bill together that everyone can support; that would be a victory in my book.”

Multiple Opportunities

While GOAL says that they want to work with others in crafting a proper gun bill, gun violence prevention groups say that these gun advocates have had ample time to voice their concerns.

“They have already had multiple opportunities to voice their concerns,” said Sheila Decter, the Director of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action. “They have voiced their concerns at various meetings; it is clear that this legislation attempts to address those concerns.”

Decter says that many attempts have been made to work with GOAL to create a bill that is of interest to both parties, but the group always wants more. Every time a concern is addressed, GOAL finds a way to find something else to complain about.

“Now that we are ready to pass this law, they are finding new concerns,” said Decter. “I think all of this is an effort to delay this bill even further. It is difficult because they always say that they are promoting freedom and liberty but they are only focusing on the freedom and liberty of gun owners. They don’t want to pay attention to the fact that people want to live in a safe environment where guns are not a concern.”

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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