Area politicians are chiming in on a gun reform bill that passed through the State House 120–38 on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
Rep. Jenny Armini of Marblehead explained that the bill was originally sponsored by Rep. Mike Day of Stoneham, with her and Rep. Dan Cahill of Lynn as its cosponsors. Local Republican Representatives Donald Wong of Saugus and Bradley Jones of North Reading notably voiced their opposition to the bill both during Wednesday’s House Session and after.
House Bill 4135, “An act modernizing firearm laws,” aims to address ghost guns, update the state’s Extreme Risk Protection Orders, prohibit the presence of guns in certain public spaces, and streamline the gun licensing process.
Wong asserted his beliefs in a press release on Thursday, stating that the bill will do nothing to reduce crime. Wong also expressed his feeling that it will have a negative impact on lawful gun owners in Massachusetts by infringing on their Second Amendment rights.
“Massachusetts already has some of the strictest firearm laws in the country, along with the lowest rate of deaths associated with gun violence,” Wong said in the press release. “The vast majority of gun-related crimes are committed with illegal weapons and not with legally owned firearms.”
Wong added that the bill should not increase restrictions for law-abiding citizens, but should rather focus on punishing those in possession of illegal weapons.
Wong’s other main criticism of the bill included its lack of an estimated cost for the legislation. Any proposal to the House is allegedly required to have a fiscal note if the cost is estimated to be more than $100,000. Jones made a point of order about this topic on Wednesday.
“It’s somewhat amazing to me that we’ve seen a third iteration of a 125-plus-page bill in the matter of two really short months,” Jones said at the House Session. “All that hearing, all that testimony, and 125 pages of this, the committee envisions it’s not going to cost one cent? Or at least under $100,000?”
House Bill 4135 is a sub-component of a 2023 supplemental spending bill, which Wong also did not support.
Armini argued that components of the bill such as stricter laws on unserialized “ghost guns” and the banning of devices that increase rate of fire will have an effect in the battle against gun violence.
“I have heard hypotheticals and hyperbole, but I have not heard specifics on how this bill creates an undue burden on law-abiding citizens,” Armini said in an interview. “No parent in this day and age sends their child off to school without thinking the unthinkable…this represents the best Massachusetts can do given the limits of the Supreme Court’s interpretations and federal law.”
House Bill 4135 now moves to the Senate for its consideration.
