So for a timeline, AG Maura Healey sent her letter, and had her press conference, that she claims only bans “Copy Cat weapons”, but people who know guns interpret as banning ALL modern semi-auto rifles, shotguns, and pistols, on Wednesday, July 20th, right in the middle of the Democrat National Convention. She promptly left the state to attend the Democrat National Convention.
And the last day the legislature was in session was yesterday. So to say we were dealing with a compressed timeframe is to understate it horribly!
There were some good bills filed, this was my favorite (PDF)
But in the end, we didn’t move the needle:
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo shut the door on debating gun legislation this weekend, saying lawmakers won’t take up bills in reaction to Attorney General Maura Healey’s crackdown on ‘copycat’ assault weapons. The legality of her move will likely end up in court, he said.
…”There’s no possible way we could have an issue such as a gun debate be debated and acted upon within two days,” said DeLeo, D-Winthrop, as gun rights activists knocked on lawmakers’ doors in a bid to get them to take up bills stripping Healey of her authority over gun regulations.
DeLeo said lawmakers’ current focus is overriding Gov. Charlie Baker’s vetoes of the state budget. Lawmakers could take up compromise bills on energy, economic development, and municipal government reform, among a few others.
I must at this time note that Rep DeLeo is one of TWO surviving Massachusetts attorney Generals to NOT be convicted federal felons, and his predecessor, Sal DeMassi is rotting in federal prison right now, the third speaker to step down due to federal criminal acts.
There is still hope that AG Healey will issue a clarification letter, but for now it’ll be up to the courts to rule. It SHOULD be a clean-cut case, as Heller v DC and McDonald v City of Chicago both state that firearms “In common use” can’t be restricted, but the level of corruption of the Massachusetts Democrat party, and the Democrat party at large is immense.
Both GOAL and NRA ILA are pledging to fight this. If you want to donate, I’d appreciate that.
I think “they” are stacking the deck for a Hillary appointed SCOTUS. Jerry Brown’s signature on a bill effectively defining any firearm with a removable magazine as an assault weapon, and the Mass. AG redefining 20 years of legal understanding on a seeming whim is just too much of a coincidence. By taking both of these cases to the SCOTUS, and having a “favorable” ruling, gun ownership would essentially be banned in the US. This would set the stage for some pretty nasty confrontations IMNSHO, of course.