MA Gun Rights Group Snubbed at Gun Bill Signing

Friday, August 15, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

After investing a lot of time to work with state officials to ensure that the recently enacted gun law was something that everyone could agree to, GOAL – the Gun Owner’s Action League, Massachusetts’ main pro-gun rights lobby group – was snubbed at the signing of the bill.

Although the bill was something that GOAL had worked with to ensure that it would be a bill that they could support, gun control activists dominated the crowd at the bill signing.

“So much for celebrating the historic nature of this bill,” said Jim Wallace, Executive Director of GOAL. “We worked tirelessly on this bill and were instrumental in getting it passed – and he can’t invite us to the bill signing ceremony? This just proves that gun owners in this state are, and will continue to be, regarded as 2nd class citizens just because they choose to exercise their 2nd amendment rights.”

The gun law - An Act Relative to the Reduction of Gun Violence – will reform the state’s gun laws by focusing on school safety, mental health, enhanced criminal penalties for gun crimes and increased background checks.

Apologizing for the Oversight

This bill that was signed has been in the making since 2012. After not liking the initial drafts of the bill, GOAL worked extensively with state legislators in order to ensure that if the bill were to pass, it would be something that GOAL and other gun owners could support.
Although GOAL was seemingly forgotten when inviting people to the signing of the bill, state officials have reached out to GOAL to apologize. These officials hope that members of GOAL don’t take the snub to heart, hoping that they will help to implement the bill in the future.

“We have spoken directly with GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace to apologize for the oversight of not including them in today’s program,” said Terrel Harris, a spokesperson for the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety, in a statement. “The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security looks forward to continuing to work with GOAL as we implement the new law."

No Respect for Compromising

The state has reached out to apologize, but there are some pro-gun rights activists who say that GOAL got what they had coming to them; selling out does not equal respect.

Chris Pinto - a member of the Worcester Republican City Committee and pro-gun rights activist – believes that this bill is still a horrid bill, even if GOAL was involved in its building.

Additionally Rick Swasey, founder of the Massachusetts Responsible Gun Owners (MARGO), had said that the language of the bill is dangerous to gun owners because the bill limits access to second amendment rights with subjective suitability clauses.

“That’s what you get for compromising; you don’t get any respect,” said Pinto. “This has become a very dangerous bill; the language of this bill is very dangerous. For GOAL or any other legislator to say that this bill is a good bill is blatantly lying.”

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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