Officials call for federal laws to match Massachusetts
A dozen years after the federal ban on assault weapons expired, provisions against certain semiautomatic weapons remain on the books in Massachusetts, making the state one of the strictest in the nation on guns.
In what has become commonplace after mass shooting incidents, the debate over access to guns reignited in the wake of the attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The shooter, Omar Mateen, used an AR-15-style assault rifle and a 9-mm semiautomatic pistol to kill at least 49 people and wound 53 others early Sunday.
That particular rifle is banned in Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey said Monday when calling for a reinstatement of the federal assault weapons ban.
Several other state and federal officials this week echoed her call to bring federal gun control laws up to par with those in Massachusetts. The Bay State gun laws are far stricter than those in other states, including Florida.
Rifles similar to the one Mateen had were used in other recent mass shootings: in 2012 at a movie theater (12 killed and 58 wounded) in Aurora, Colorado, and at Sandy Hook Elementary School (27 killed and 2 wounded) in Newtown, Connecticut, and last year at a government building 14 killed and 20 wounded) in San Bernardino, California.
The Massachusetts assault weapons ban specifically refers to the language used in the 1994 federal law, which expired automatically in 2004.
Semiautomatic regulations
Fully automatic guns have been heavily regulated since the 1930s. The 1994 ban focused on regulating semiautomatic weapons — those that reload automatically but fire one bullet with each pull of the trigger.
The law prohibited certain models of AR-15s and AK-47s as well as those with certain features such as pistol grips and bayonet mounts. It also limited the number of bullets a magazine could carry to no more than 10.
http://www.gazettenet.com/Massachusetts-gun-laws-among-strictest-in-country-2843930
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This is a great article. The latter part explains how ridiculous Mass law is - collapsable stocks turning a rifle into a killing machine.
Also good info from the Pink Pistols.
Was not expecting this from the Gazette.
When lay people read this and they realize there is a actual path in Mass to get a gun license (for most) - there will me more gun owners.
This story is a step.
We need more to build on this to explain that Mass gun laws DO allow for AR15 ownership - albeit with a fixed stock and no bayonet lug.
The pols have no idea how stupid they sound when they say that we need to reinstitute the AWB - Assault Weapons Ban.
A dozen years after the federal ban on assault weapons expired, provisions against certain semiautomatic weapons remain on the books in Massachusetts, making the state one of the strictest in the nation on guns.
In what has become commonplace after mass shooting incidents, the debate over access to guns reignited in the wake of the attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The shooter, Omar Mateen, used an AR-15-style assault rifle and a 9-mm semiautomatic pistol to kill at least 49 people and wound 53 others early Sunday.
That particular rifle is banned in Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey said Monday when calling for a reinstatement of the federal assault weapons ban.
Several other state and federal officials this week echoed her call to bring federal gun control laws up to par with those in Massachusetts. The Bay State gun laws are far stricter than those in other states, including Florida.
Rifles similar to the one Mateen had were used in other recent mass shootings: in 2012 at a movie theater (12 killed and 58 wounded) in Aurora, Colorado, and at Sandy Hook Elementary School (27 killed and 2 wounded) in Newtown, Connecticut, and last year at a government building 14 killed and 20 wounded) in San Bernardino, California.
The Massachusetts assault weapons ban specifically refers to the language used in the 1994 federal law, which expired automatically in 2004.
Semiautomatic regulations
Fully automatic guns have been heavily regulated since the 1930s. The 1994 ban focused on regulating semiautomatic weapons — those that reload automatically but fire one bullet with each pull of the trigger.
The law prohibited certain models of AR-15s and AK-47s as well as those with certain features such as pistol grips and bayonet mounts. It also limited the number of bullets a magazine could carry to no more than 10.
http://www.gazettenet.com/Massachusetts-gun-laws-among-strictest-in-country-2843930
--------------
This is a great article. The latter part explains how ridiculous Mass law is - collapsable stocks turning a rifle into a killing machine.
Also good info from the Pink Pistols.
Was not expecting this from the Gazette.
When lay people read this and they realize there is a actual path in Mass to get a gun license (for most) - there will me more gun owners.
This story is a step.
We need more to build on this to explain that Mass gun laws DO allow for AR15 ownership - albeit with a fixed stock and no bayonet lug.
The pols have no idea how stupid they sound when they say that we need to reinstitute the AWB - Assault Weapons Ban.