Boston, MA, October 19, 2023 - The Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence applauds the Massachusetts House of Representatives for swiftly passing H.4135, An Act modernizing firearm laws. This is a critically important bill that will improve safety for all residents of the Commonwealth. This legislation updates our assault weapons ban to close loopholes, updates our licensing standards, expands our extreme risk protection order provisions, requires the serialization of dangerous, untraceable ghost guns, and improves our firearm data collection and analysis.
We are deeply grateful to House Leadership, including Speaker Mariano, Chair Day, and Chair Michlewitz for leading the way on this important charge. Every day we see the impacts of gun violence across the Commonwealth, leaving families, neighbors, and entire communities dealing with lifelong trauma and grief. We know that strong gun violence laws, in combination with sustained investment in communities and community-based solutions will break the cycle of gun violence.
Ruth Zakarin, Executive Director:
“Gun violence is an urgent crisis that requires urgent action. While Massachusetts may have one of the lowest rates of gun violence in the country, we are absolutely not immune to this epidemic. We still see far too much violence across the Commonwealth, and we know that this violence is not impacting all communities equally. We thank the House for their continued commitment to gun violence prevention, and look forward to continuing to work with the Senate to get a bill signed as soon as possible.”