Repealing Mass Gun Laws

swatgig

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It seems to me that the politicians are passing laws that the people do not agree with. The recent surge in license applications and gun purchases indicates to me that many people want to own guns. With that in mind, has anyone tried to overturn any Massachusetts gun control laws through an Initiative Petition for a Law (68,911 signatures required) or Referendum Petition (34,456 signatures required)?

An Referendum Petition could be used to repeal any new law Linsky gets enacted, and the Initiative Petition could be used to try to repeal the Assault Weapons Ban, of the police chief's veto-power of a license.

A referendum petition should be filed if an individual intends to have a law enacted by the General Court repealed by the voters. A referendum petition can only be used to repeal an entire law; it cannot be used to repeal a section of a law.

An initiative petition for a law should be filed if the individual intends to submit a proposed law to the voters for their approval or rejection. An initiative petition for a law may also be used to propose a law seeking to repeal or amend a particular section of an existing law
 
They are ignored by the pols. Sad but true.

-tapatalk and Devin McCourty blow chunks-
 
Why don't we just hire ACORN to do it for us.... they will sit in a room and sign fake names 24hrs a day 7 days a week for 2 weeks and have it ready for the vote in no time... dead people can still vote in MA right????
 
I believe we need to know what law(s) we want to repeal.....ALL would be my vote. But break it into separate bills so that they need to vote on each one.

If we get them to a or several reps, as I recall, they have to introduce them if a constituent requests is.
 
I'm in. I would sign either or both. How do we get started?

The Referendum Petition to repeal whatever Linsky gets passed must be started within 30 days of the act being signed by the Govornor.

The Initiative Petition process starts in August/September for the following year's election.


I believe we need to know what law(s) we want to repeal.....ALL would be my vote. But break it into separate bills so that they need to vote on each one.

I'd go for a repeal of the assault weapons ban and a repeal of the police chief's veto power.

If we get them to a or several reps, as I recall, they have to introduce them if a constituent requests is.

The reason for going the ballot route is because the pols are doing whatever they please, regardless of the wishes of the voters.


Good luck getting the General Court to acknowledge the law even if it was passed by the voters. Silly kid, it's their game not yours. None of us can be trusted to know what is best for us in the great Bay State.

If the General Court won't follow the law, we file a lawsuit in the Superior Court and go that route.
 
If the General Court won't follow the law, we file a lawsuit in the Superior Court and go that route.

I really do sincerely hope you win. Having been admitted to the MA Bar for over ten years, I have little confidence that the Superior Court or even the Mass. SJC will not side with the General Court. They are all in bed together.
 
Sadly the days of passing around useless pieces of paper with signatures on it is coming to pass.
 
Frankly, we don't have the votes.

Agreed; however, if you could get enough signatures, it could be very useful. Why not make the Linsky types at the statehouse squirm by forcing this onto their plates. I'd argue that them ignoring it has more PR value that an actual vote.

Hell, just having a listing and e-mails of 2A supporters could give you considerable clout in a low turnout election.
 
Agreed; however, if you could get enough signatures, it could be very useful.

Or we could just end up showing how much of a paper tiger we are.

People on NES keep making the mistake of thinking that others think the way we do. They don't. Most in MA are anti-gun and words like "assault weapon" scare the crap out of them. There isn't a silent majority in MA that supports us.
 
Or we could just end up showing how much of a paper tiger we are.

People on NES keep making the mistake of thinking that others think the way we do. They don't. Most in MA are anti-gun and words like "assault weapon" scare the crap out of them. There isn't a silent majority in MA that supports us.

Sometimes weakness favors bold action. Believe me, I have no illusions that repeal of the AWB would be feasible. However, a petition drive is a long-term goal that that would keep people engaged. Things like state house rallies are transitory and tend to fade over time. Plus, if the petition drive unearthed a couple hundred voters in a house district, it could swing a few House seats. A petition drive could yield longer range benefits.

I'm also not totally convinced that we don't have some hidden strength. Consider that Linsky hasn't proposed measures as draconian as say NY and MD. Why? I doubt it's not because he wouldn't want to. I'm guessing he doesn't have the votes.

Consider also that the Speaker basically created a committee to make recommendations. If he was committed to socking us with new draconian regulation, wouldn't he have moved a bill immediately and pulled a NY vote in the middle of the night?

I think this could be beneficial as part of a long-term strategic plan.
 
I agree with M1911.

There are more new shooters (based on the new Ltc folks) but there's not enough to make the "pols squirm"

And, as far as I can tell, Linsky et al are marching to their own drummer, or seeking new targets of opportunity, and just becasye NY wants a 7-round max, and Linsky "insurance" does not mean that in a year or two, the reasonable restrictions of one state won't be adopted by others.....
 
It seems to me that GOAL would have already thought of this and assessed its potential. None of this would get any traction. There might be many new LTC applicants, but MA is, overall, a hoplophobe's paradise, and it is going to stay that way. I live in NH but have worked in MA for over two decades without meeting a single colleague whose views were made known who isn't vehemently opposed to private gun ownership. So I keep my mouth shut down there to stay off of the layoff list.
 
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