Politician's Responses to AG Overeach

[MA_Shooter]

Just got this from Senator Lewis:

Hi sean128,

Thank you very much for reaching out to to share your thoughts on the Attorney General's recent announcement regarding assault weapons. I appreciate your concerns about the process that has been followed here, and I plan to share these concerns that I am receiving from constituents with the Attorney General's office.

I would encourage you to visit this webpage, which includes the AG's letter, enforcement notice, and FAQs: http://www.mass.gov/ago/public-safety/awbe.html. If you would like to contact the Attorney General's office directly to ask questions or express your concerns, you may call Consumer Assistance and Response Division hotline at (617) 727-8400.

Best regards,

Jason


Jason M. Lewis
State Senator
Fifth Middlesex District
State House, Room 511-B
Boston, MA 02133
617 722-1206
[email protected]
http://www.facebook.com/SenJasonLewis
Twitter @senjasonlewis
www.senatorjasonlewis.com

That's a big FU.

 

[Goliathan]

That's a big FU.

Yeah. Nice to know that Senator Lewis is no better than a telephone drone in Healey's office. "I'll pass it along to the AG."

 

[Fixxah]

Hanging at a rable under the eagle. Anybody out there?

 

[rivet_42]

Crickets from Rep. David M. Rogers on any contact I've directed to his office on this issue. Not even a form letter.

 

[rivet_42]

I got a note back from Sen. Brownsberger on the Tarr bill that I emailed him about this morning. In my communications with Sen. Brownsberger, I have tried to make it less about guns, and more about the AG stepping into what should rightfully be the Leg's domain, and also about arbitrarily making felons out of people who thought they had been following the law.

rivet_42
(address)
(phone)
Dear Senator Brownsberger:

Another bill has been proposed, this one by Sen. Bruce Tarr, that restores the status quo ante before A.G. Maura Healey issued her "reinterpretation" of Mass. firearms laws on July 20th. This bill, SD.2644, would place the ability to pass firearms legislation or material reinterpretations of law squarely back where it belongs: with the General Court. It also provides that no person with a valid firearms license who bought, sold, or transferred a firearm that they believed was legal, prior to July 21st, shall be liable to prosecution.

It also stiffens the penalties for crimes committed with firearms. Keeping violent criminals off the streets is something I'm sure we can all agree on.

I urge you to support SD.2644.

Respectfully,
/rivet_42/

For what it's worth, I do share many of your concerns, but don't feel that the Tarr bill was remotely ready for action, although well intentioned.

The best likely answer to the AG's overreach is a law suit and the courts will settle it. It really is an appropriate issue for the courts, because the AG, in my view, went beyond what we had in statute. Altering our statute won't necessarily cure that anyway.

Still crickets from Rep. David Rogers.

 

[Coyote33]

I would like to see them demand an answer to the letter they sent her.

 

[iofneedle]

I would like to see them demand an answer to the letter they sent her.

Yea, me too. Do we need to push for this too?

 

[Greschner 4]

I would like to see them demand an answer to the letter they sent her.

Have you heard of the saying: "If the phone don't ring you know it's me".

 

[JJ4]

I love how they just say a lawsuit and the courts will decide.

Who do they expect to pay for this court case? Oh, they want us to pay to challenge it, and us to pay our taxes to pay to defend it.

What they are saying is "pony up a few hundred thousand and roll the dice with the courts"

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Waher]

If they cared and though the courts were the only solution they'd have immediately announced a lawsuit. They don't, and it's better for us anyway because their lawyers would likely throw the case.

 

[M125X]

I love how they just say a lawsuit and the courts will decide.

Who do they expect to pay for this court case? Oh, they want us to pay to challenge it, and us to pay our taxes to pay to defend it.

What they are saying is "pony up a few hundred thousand and roll the dice with the courts"

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Yep, we need to pay for both sides of the fight... we pay Comm2A and the taxes to fight Comm2A. Pathetic. Deleo is a joke.

 

[cb1]

I emailed Rep. Keiko Orrall last week. She immediately followed up with a phone call stating the AG's enforcement notice is outrageous and that she will do everything she can to fight it. A couple days later I got the email below as a follow up from her staff.

Dear ________,

Thank you for your recent email to Representative Orrall regarding the Attorney General’s recent change to the enforcement and interpretation of our gun laws. Please know she understands and shares your concerns regarding this overreach by the Attorney General.

In an effort to address this issue Representative Orrall signed on to multiple letters to the Attorney General from the legislature, they are attached for your reference.

She co-sponsored legislation filed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, An Act to protect due process and strengthen public safety, which has also been attached.

Most recently she signed on to a letter asking Legislative Leadership to have an oversight hearing regarding this matter as well. Representative Orrall will continue to take any available actions to address this and to protect the Second Amendment.

Thank You,
Katie Desrosiers

Katie Desrosiers
Legislative Aide
Office of Representative Keiko Orrall
State House, Room 540
Boston MA 02133
617-722-2090

Rep. Orrall has consistently shown her support for the Second Amendment and has spoken at multiple GOAL rallies in Boston.

 

[rwl1955]

Dear Robert,


Thank you for your email. I have signed onto co-sponsor a bill comparable to Senator Humason’s bill to restrict the Attorney General’s authority to change the rules and regulations surrounding firearms. I have attached a summary of this legislation which was filed by Senator Bruce Tarr. The House and Senate are in session all weekend voting on legislation and I hope that leadership will take consideration of this bill. I have always supported the Second Amendment rights of my constituents and I appreciate you contacting my office.


Respectfully,

Jennifer L. Flanagan
State Senator
Worcester & Middlesex District

 

[bigblue]

Ross represents me too which I'm pleased with given the alternatives.

Jim,


Totally agree. This is total BS. I'm working on it Total abuse of power and a political stunt. I appreciate your support.


Shawn

Shawn Dooley
State Representative, 9th Norfolk
Medfield, Millis, Norfolk, Plainville, Walpole, & Wrentham.

and from Senator Richard Ross

Dear Jim:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the recent decision by Attorney General Maura Healey to unilaterally rule on the scope of the Assault Weapons Ban. Please know that I too was disappointed to learn of her actions, especially in light of the fact that she gave no notification to the Legislature in advance. We were informed of it through the media, and had numerous questions as to whether or not she followed protocols and more importantly, had the authority to take such action.



From what we in the Senate Republican Caucus have been able to ascertain, it appears that the AG does have the authority to issue a clarifying statement of guidance on preexisting law. The AG used her authority to notify gun dealers in the state about what qualifies and meets the criteria for legal and illegal firearms. Though the sale of assault weapons have been banned in Massachusetts since 1998, I do believe that there needs to be more clarification on what firearms constitute “copycat” and “duplicate” assault weapons so that citizens and gun dealers are not unknowingly breaking the law. This can be done while we are able to close loopholes and clarify the scope of the law.



Law abiding citizens should not find themselves in such a serious predicament between legality and illegality overnight. The rights of legal gun owners must be protected and therefore it is imperative that the Attorney General clarify what her ruling means for those who believed they were legally purchasing firearms on or before July 20th.



It is unfortunate that there was not more communication between the Attorney General, the legislature and the citizens before this announcement. If there had been I am certain the state would not be facing as much ambiguity as it is now.

The Attorney General’s office has set-up hotlines for anyone who wishes to call and express any concerns or questions. Gun dealers who have questions about compliance can call (617) 963-2775. For all other questions or comments, constituents can call the Consumer Assistance and Response Division hotline at (617) 727-8400. There is a web page where you can find the letter the Attorney General sent, the enforcement notice, and answers to some frequently asked questions: http://www.mass.gov/ago/public-safety/awbe.html.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have as well.



Sincerely,

Richard Ross

 

[Goliathan]

I got the same thing from Ross. I was hoping for more from him, but it was about what I expected. She may have the power to send clarifying letters but she doesn't have the power to change the law.

 

[rwl1955]

Dear Bob,

Over this past weekend, the House and Senate were here all day and night voting on budget overrides and other bills that had been vetted over the past year and half. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to find a way to bring this to the floor for a vote. Senator Tarr and others sought out a bill that could be amended with his language but unfortunately, there were no bills related to this topic on the weekend agenda. Many legislators remain unhappy with the Attorney General’s decision and her lack of response to the legislature. I will continue to be in touch with the Senators about taking action during bill filing in January to rectify this issue.

In the meantime, I would encourage you to continue voicing your opposition to the Attorney General’s office. I am happy to have my staff contact her on your behalf if you would like for me to make that request.


Respectfully,

Jennifer L. Flanagan
State Senator
Worcester & Middlesex District