BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) has unveiled long-awaited legislation designed to further tighten the state’s already strict gun laws.
The bill would for the first time give local police chiefs the ability to deny firearms licenses for rifles or shotguns based on suitability standards and extend federal restrictions for firearm acquisition to the state level.
The measure would also require background checks for private gun sales and require Massachusetts to join a national instant criminal background database.
The bill mirrors many recommendations made by a task force headed by Northeastern University professor Jack McDevitt that was created after the December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
DeLeo and other lawmakers said the bill would improve on Massachusetts’ already strong gun laws while also protecting the rights of lawful gun owners.
“It is not enough to be one of the safest states in the nation, we must enact laws that make our communities the safest in the world,” DeLeo said. “I believe this legislation gives us the tools and foundation to reach that goal. I thank Dean McDevitt, the task force and my colleagues in the House for their commitment to creating such a thoughtful, deliberate and comprehensive bill.”
“The members of the Committee to Reduce Firearm Violence are very pleased that so many of our recommendations and each of the most important recommendations have been included in the legislation filed by Speaker DeLeo,” said McDevitt.
“The task of addressing the approximate 60 bills filed this session related to firearms has been a long and arduous one,” said Representative Harold Naughton, Jr. (D-Clinton), Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. “As we reach the end of this process, I commend the efforts of Speaker DeLeo, as well as my legislative colleagues as they have been exceptionally helpful in providing assistance and insight on this matter. I am confident that this new comprehensive piece of legislation takes deliberate action to reduce the number crimes and fatalities caused by firearms, while simultaneously upholding the second amendments right of every resident throughout the Commonwealth.”
