Massachusetts voters will decide this November whether to keep or repeal a wide-ranging firearms law that was signed in 2024.
Question 9 asks voters whether to keep the law. The measure expanded firearm regulations in Massachusetts, including changes to licensing requirements, restrictions on certain firearms, and where guns can be carried.
Our team has been breaking down each question along
with what supporters and opponents are saying.
Boston 25 News anchor, Shanna Ferrer,
joining us right now in the studio.
Shanna, question nine could repeal aspects
of the state's gun regulations.
Yeah, that's right. Massachusetts voters will decide
this November whether to keep
or repeal a wide-ranging gun law that was passed back in 2024.
Now, the law has already been signed,
but it's now the future of it in the hands of Massachusetts voters.
And here's what this could look like for ballot question nine.
The law, signed in 2024, expanded Massachusetts firearm regulations,
including rules for gun licensing,
untraceable firearms, and where people can carry guns.
Think about the law as updating, as described,
updating the firearms restrictions and regulations,
especially for things like extremist protection orders
and technological advances in firearms.
The law would also add training and testing requirements
for new applicants for firearm licenses and ID cards.
Dr. Michael Ulrich is a professor of health law,
policy, and management at Boston University.
What does Question 9 actually do,
and what's at stake with a yes or a no vote?
Yes on 9 leaves in place a firearm law that is meant to update
and improve the safety regulations in Massachusetts.
A no on nine makes it more difficult for both law enforcement
and for public health officials to address,
improve, and mitigate gun violence and gun crimes.
Question nine also establishes rules for so-called ghost guns,
firearms that lack traceable serial numbers
and restricts firearms in certain locations,
including schools and polling places, with some exceptions.
Because there is no serial number, there's no way to track it.
So for law enforcement in particular,
anytime a ghost gun is used to commit a crime,
it becomes that much more difficult
then to find the potential perpetrator.
The law also expands who can petition a court
for an extreme risk protection order,
which can require someone considered a danger to themselves
or others to surrender their firearms.
They allow people defined by the law to say, we are worried about
this individual who has a firearm legally, but we're worried that they
are going to use that firearm to harm either themselves or others.
What the current law does, that ballot nine deals with,
is to say, well, we want to expand who can bring those sorts
of requests to judges to include school administrators,
which I think is clearly meant to deal with potential school shootings.
These are among the provisions that would be affected
if voters choose to repeal the law this November.
opponents say the law adds costly bureaucracy
and confusing requirements in a state that already
had strict gun laws they argue it burdens law-abiding gun owners
and local police without
necessarily improving public safety Massachusetts
voters will decide question nine on November 3rd
for more information on ballot question nine head over
to boston25news.com okay Shanna thank you new right now
