Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an emergency preamble to a gun reform bill passed this summer, a move that prevents the law from being suspended while opponents work on a ballot measure to put before voters in two years.
The law addresses, among other things, ghost guns and red flag laws.
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"We needed to give time to our agencies and municipalities to take the steps and do what they need to do in order to get ready for implementation on Day One," Healey said Wednesday.
Critics say that doesn't tell the whole story.
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"Jobs will suffer, people's lives will suffer, because of this action she is taking today," said spokesman Toby Leary of Civil Rights Coalition, a group calling for the gun law's repeal.
Gun advocates collected thousands of signatures in recent weeks hoping to push pause on the bill until voters could weigh in with a 2026 ballot question.
"Now, she's saying, 'Nope, we're not going to allow that process to happen,'" said Leary. "'You can still put it to a vote in two years, but you're going to live with the law we signed,' and I feel that is a subversion of the Constitution."
Healey and others balk at that framing.
"The system is there, it's a democracy, you can go to your legislature and you can advocate for policy and advocate for laws," Healey said. "That's the way the system works."
"The vast majority of Massachusetts residents wants this bill and want it to take effect as soon as possible," said Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka.
As for opponents of the bill, attention now turns to the courts.
"It's all reaching a crescendo, and we're tired of being the whipping post," said Leary.
