2nd Amendment Activists in Massachusetts File Lawsuit Over New Gun Safety Law

"Ghost guns" seized in federal law enforcement actions are displayed at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives field office in Glendale, Calif., on April 18, 2022. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

A Massachusetts-based gun rights group has made the first moves in what its leader says will be a multi-pronged response to H4885, an omnibus gun law signed on July 22 by Gov. Maura Healy.

The Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Aug. 1 regarding the new law’s licensing and training requirements. An official with GOAL told The Epoch Times on Aug. 22 that the lawsuit and a petition for a ballot initiative to repeal the law are the first steps in the group’s plan.

Mike Harris, GOAL’s director of public policy, said the organization and six individuals sued Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and John E. Mawn, head of the Massachusetts State Police, in their roles as state officials.

According to the lawsuit, the new law creates an impossible situation for those wishing to be licensed to purchase and carry firearms.

H4885 established requirements for live fire and disengagement training, plus a new class curriculum that has yet to be written. When the law goes into effect on Oct. 23, anyone without the required training will not be licensed, according to Harris.

He said the law effectively establishes a moratorium on licensing.

“This has been one of the biggest issues with this bill,” Harris told The Epoch Times.

The law requires the colonel of state police to communicate the new rules and regulations about firearms safety certificates to the public.

According to a letter from the state police to firearms trainers posted on the GOAL website, the state police are working with the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security “to clarify the statutory interpretation of the new firearms law.”

“Individuals will not be required to take the new course called for under the law, including the live-fire requirement, until the law goes into effect,” the message reads in part.

However, the message doesn’t explain whether licensees will have to take the new course when it becomes available or if their prior licenses will be honored. The Massachusetts State Police did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

Harris described the dilemma as a “Catch-22 situation” in which there is a law that is impossible to comply with.

“This does not make it unconstitutional [on its face], but when it comes to civil rights, I think there should be a difference in the standards for rights that are under the Bill of Rights,” Harris said.

GOAL also filed petitions with Campbell’s office requesting a referendum to repeal the law.

Under Massachusetts law, Campbell will determine whether the referendum is legal. She will then send a draft summary of the law to be included in the petitions to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Francis Galvin.

Gun safety advocates rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments in the Second Amendment case NY State Rifle & Pistol v. City of New York, in Washington on Dec. 2, 2019. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Harris pointed out that since the law doesn’t include language declaring an emergency, it could be suspended pending the referendum. However, Healy could insert such language at any time, he said.

“We just don’t know what she might do,” Harris said.

A spokesperson for Campbell’s office confirmed the review is underway. She told The Epoch Times that the attorney general’s office does not comment on reviews in process and that a response would be sent to Galvin when the review is complete.

Harris said the petition process would keep the issue off the ballot until 2026.

GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace posted a statement on the GOAL website vowing to fight the new law and calling on other Second Amendment advocates to pitch in. He wrote that the 116-page law is too big for one lawsuit, so GOAL wants to coordinate with other groups.

“Because this law is so massive, no court will take it on all at once,” Wallace wrote. “The court action GOAL filed in federal court is about licensing and training and is only the first salvo in what is to come.”

H4885 codifies many policies touted by gun safety activists.

‘Ghost Guns’ Banned

The new law bans so-called “ghost guns”—guns built from kits, 3-D printed guns, and other firearms or gun frames and receivers that don’t have a serial number.

The law also lengthens the list of so-called “assault-style firearms” that are banned in Massachusetts, tightens licensing requirements, and requires that all guns be registered with the state, including those in the inventory of a federal firearms licensed dealer.

It also requires state officials to share gun tracing data with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Healey praised the new law in an online statement when she signed it.

“This law will save lives, and I’m grateful to the Legislature and gun safety advocates for their hard work to see this through,” she wrote.