HorizontalHunter
NES Member
Brady Campaign anti-gun group says gun laws in Massachusetts are not tough enough
By Patrick Johnson, Republican staff
February 22, 2010, 8:25AM
WEST SPRINGFIELD - An anti-gun violence advocacy group says Massachusetts gun laws are good but could be better, while some gun owners say state regulations are oppressive and could not get much worse.
"I don't believe they need to be strengthened," said Mark Laflamme, of Granby. "I feel they are already tough enough."
Laflamme, a hunter, was interviewed at the Springfield Sportsmen's Show, which ended its run Sunday at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield.
Other gun enthusiasts gave a thumbs down to a report issued last week to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence that praised Massachusetts gun laws as being betters than most states while still having room for improvement.
Laflamme said all the state's gun laws do is make it harder for law-abiding people like himself to own guns. "And criminals don't care about FID (firearms identification) cards or pistol permits," he said.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the nation's largest anti-gun violence organization and named after James Brady, the former White House press secretary critically injured in the 1981 assassination, rates Massachusetts having the third most effective gun laws, behind only California and New Jersey. On a scale of 1 to 100, Massachusetts merited a 54, according to the ranking.
The state scored favorably for regulations intended to clamp down on illegal gun trafficking, such as requiring dealers to keep detailed records of purchases and sales, and to perform background checks on all buyers. The Brady Campaign also praised requirements that people seeking a gun permit must have fingerprints on file and take a gun safety course.
The state's complete scorecard results and other state rankings can be found at www.bradycampaign.org.
"We applaud Massachusetts for its strong law requiring licenses to purchase firearms," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "This is an important way to keep dangerous firearms out of the hands of dangerous people."
“We applaud Massachusetts for its strong law requiring licenses to purchase firearms. This is an important way to keep dangerous firearms out of the hands of dangerous people.”
- Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun ViolenceAt the Sportsmen's show, gun enthusiasts weren't buying it.
Bob Allessio, of Pittsfield, said he owns several hunting rifles and the state's laws for ownership, storage and transportation of firearms are so restrictive, it's hard to know if he's complying with the law or not.
"It's just terrible," he said.
Ryan Brooks, of Spencer, shot down any suggestion to make gun laws more restrictive. "The gun laws are too restrictive as is," he said.
Repeating a theme expressed by others at the show, Brooks said the majority of gun owners are law-abiding and responsible, but they have to suffer because of a few or are not responsible.
"One idiot can make it bad for the rest of us," he said.
State Rep. Donald F. Humason Jr., R-Westfield, a member of the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners Action League, and the Westfield Sportsman Club, said the problem with Massachusetts gun laws is they do nothing to deter gun crime. And that is the part the Brady organization has never seemed to understand, he said.
"They seem to forget that criminals don't follow laws," he said. "The Brady group has always looked at it the wrong way."
The Gun Owners Action League favors simplifying state gun laws to make them more reasonable, transparent and more easily understandable.
Humason said he favors punishing those who use guns in crime rather than blanket restrictions on all gun owners.
John Rosenthal, president of the advocacy group Stop Handgun Violence, said Massachusetts gun laws are a model for the rest of the country, and it is no coincidence the state has among the lowest per-capita gun deaths per year. "Our gun laws work, he said.
Rosenthal, who is a gun owner, said he frequently hears from other gun owners about the burden of Massachusetts gun laws, but he doesn't put much stock in it.
"Any lawful gun owner can get any firearm they want to get. All they have to do is apply for an FID card, get trained and pass a background check," he said.
"The only way to know if a terrorist or criminal is exploiting our gun laws is to require background checks," he said.
One area where the Brady reports notes the state gun laws could improve safety would be limiting gun purchases to one per month.
The one-gun-per-month provision was among new regulations proposed in a bill by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.
The bill would block gun owners from buying more than one firearm within 30 days. Patrick wants to limit numerous gun purchases by people who then turn around and sell the guns on the streets to felons or other unlicensed people.
The bill is pending in the Judiciary Committee after receiving a public hearing in July.
All in all not the worse article I have seen by a reporter. Maybe some letters to the reporter about the reality of how these carpicous and arbitrary gun laws really effect law abiding gun owners would get some light shed on the subject.
Bob
By Patrick Johnson, Republican staff
February 22, 2010, 8:25AM
WEST SPRINGFIELD - An anti-gun violence advocacy group says Massachusetts gun laws are good but could be better, while some gun owners say state regulations are oppressive and could not get much worse.
"I don't believe they need to be strengthened," said Mark Laflamme, of Granby. "I feel they are already tough enough."
Laflamme, a hunter, was interviewed at the Springfield Sportsmen's Show, which ended its run Sunday at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield.
Other gun enthusiasts gave a thumbs down to a report issued last week to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence that praised Massachusetts gun laws as being betters than most states while still having room for improvement.
Laflamme said all the state's gun laws do is make it harder for law-abiding people like himself to own guns. "And criminals don't care about FID (firearms identification) cards or pistol permits," he said.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the nation's largest anti-gun violence organization and named after James Brady, the former White House press secretary critically injured in the 1981 assassination, rates Massachusetts having the third most effective gun laws, behind only California and New Jersey. On a scale of 1 to 100, Massachusetts merited a 54, according to the ranking.
The state scored favorably for regulations intended to clamp down on illegal gun trafficking, such as requiring dealers to keep detailed records of purchases and sales, and to perform background checks on all buyers. The Brady Campaign also praised requirements that people seeking a gun permit must have fingerprints on file and take a gun safety course.
The state's complete scorecard results and other state rankings can be found at www.bradycampaign.org.
"We applaud Massachusetts for its strong law requiring licenses to purchase firearms," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "This is an important way to keep dangerous firearms out of the hands of dangerous people."
“We applaud Massachusetts for its strong law requiring licenses to purchase firearms. This is an important way to keep dangerous firearms out of the hands of dangerous people.”
- Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun ViolenceAt the Sportsmen's show, gun enthusiasts weren't buying it.
Bob Allessio, of Pittsfield, said he owns several hunting rifles and the state's laws for ownership, storage and transportation of firearms are so restrictive, it's hard to know if he's complying with the law or not.
"It's just terrible," he said.
Ryan Brooks, of Spencer, shot down any suggestion to make gun laws more restrictive. "The gun laws are too restrictive as is," he said.
Repeating a theme expressed by others at the show, Brooks said the majority of gun owners are law-abiding and responsible, but they have to suffer because of a few or are not responsible.
"One idiot can make it bad for the rest of us," he said.
State Rep. Donald F. Humason Jr., R-Westfield, a member of the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners Action League, and the Westfield Sportsman Club, said the problem with Massachusetts gun laws is they do nothing to deter gun crime. And that is the part the Brady organization has never seemed to understand, he said.
"They seem to forget that criminals don't follow laws," he said. "The Brady group has always looked at it the wrong way."
The Gun Owners Action League favors simplifying state gun laws to make them more reasonable, transparent and more easily understandable.
Humason said he favors punishing those who use guns in crime rather than blanket restrictions on all gun owners.
John Rosenthal, president of the advocacy group Stop Handgun Violence, said Massachusetts gun laws are a model for the rest of the country, and it is no coincidence the state has among the lowest per-capita gun deaths per year. "Our gun laws work, he said.
Rosenthal, who is a gun owner, said he frequently hears from other gun owners about the burden of Massachusetts gun laws, but he doesn't put much stock in it.
"Any lawful gun owner can get any firearm they want to get. All they have to do is apply for an FID card, get trained and pass a background check," he said.
"The only way to know if a terrorist or criminal is exploiting our gun laws is to require background checks," he said.
One area where the Brady reports notes the state gun laws could improve safety would be limiting gun purchases to one per month.
The one-gun-per-month provision was among new regulations proposed in a bill by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.
The bill would block gun owners from buying more than one firearm within 30 days. Patrick wants to limit numerous gun purchases by people who then turn around and sell the guns on the streets to felons or other unlicensed people.
The bill is pending in the Judiciary Committee after receiving a public hearing in July.
All in all not the worse article I have seen by a reporter. Maybe some letters to the reporter about the reality of how these carpicous and arbitrary gun laws really effect law abiding gun owners would get some light shed on the subject.
Bob
![[slap]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/025.gif "Slap [slap]")
