To the editor:
On Friday, Oct. 31, the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security held a hearing to take public comment on the effort to repeal the Acts of 2024 Chapter 135 – An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws. Lynn Rep. Daniel Cahill is the House Chair for this committee and a supporter of the new law, often described as a constitutional overreach. The law was passed with little public comment and rushed to law under the false pretense of an emergency order by Gov. Maura Healy. This was done regardless of the will of the people, who had gathered twice the number of signatures required to suspend the entire law until a referendum was placed before the voters in November of 2026.
The hearing was meant as an opportunity for democracy to show its value as supporters of an effort to repeal the law were given the opportunity to speak. Unfortunately, Rep. Cahill, while physically present, could not have cared less what the speakers had to say. While I thought it would be disrespectful to take any pictures and therefore did not, Rep. Cahill’s disregard for any input was plainly evident in his body language and facial expressions, the time spent on his phone, and his lack of questions for any of the speakers in the four-plus hours of presentations.
Regardless of your position on this sweeping legislation, Rep. Cahill’s constituents deserve to know what kind of effort he put in that day and the disregard he had for any Second Amendment and Constitutional supporter.
Bernie Gardner
Southwick
