WESTFIELD – In the wake of Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) unveiling a new gun control bill last week, it appears that many legislators on both sides of the aisle aren’t pleased.
Inspired by incidents of gun violence that have occurred nationwide since the December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Conn., the bill seeks to grant more power to local authorities regarding who they approve for a gun license, among other measures, and has caused a stir with the representatives from greater Westfield.
“This bill doesn’t achieve what it sets out to do. It won’t get guns off the street,” said Rep. Nicholas Boldyga (R-Southwick) Wednesday. “I have two young kids and want to do everything I can to combat gun violence, and while the bill addresses mental health, we should be focused on stopping gun violence.”
NICHOLAS A. BOLDYGA
The ranking Republican on the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, Boldyga sat through a nine-hour committee hearing in Boston Tuesday, featuring testimony from both proponents and opponents of the bill.
“I made a motion to have two more hearings on the bill, in Worcester and in Springfield,” said Boldyga, adding that the motion was seconded by Rep. David Viera (R-Falmouth). “This is the most comprehensive piece of gun control legislation since Chapter 180 in 1998.”
He added that Rep. Harold “Hank” Naughton (D-Clinton), the chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, wouldn’t move on the motion, and that he said he’d look into it with a clerk at the State House.
JOHN VELIS
On the side of the Democrats, Rep. John Velis (D-Westfield) has also voiced his displeasure with the bill.
“I have serious reservations about the language of the bill,” he said. “I think it has some good provisions in it – criminal background checks, the mental health component – but I think it’s another additional layer of burdensome regulation on lawful gun owners.
“Individual police chiefs have so much authority and discretion whether or not to issue someone a firearm,” he said. “Suitability is the big part of the debate right now, essentially enhancing police chiefs’ authority.”
Velis also expressed concern over the purview which police chiefs throughout the Commonwealth are given under this legislation.
“It’s no longer handguns. It’s now shotguns and rifles, as well,” he said. “There is no consistency, no uniformity, so you have police chiefs just using whatever criteria they want. I’ve got big problems with that.”
