Gun ownership

Judge upholds assault weapons ban

Judge upholds assault weapons ban

Also says Healey's crackdown on copycat guns was legal

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STATE HOUSE NEWS A federal judge ruled the state’s 1998 assault weapons ban did not violate the Second Amendment and also upheld Attorney General Maura Healey’s 2016 decision to notify gun owners that “copycat” assault weapons were also subject to the ban. In his  47-page order, US District Court Judge William Young said the AR-15 “and its(...)

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House bans ‘bump stock’ devices

House bans ‘bump stock’ devices

Anything that could increase discharge rate of firearms barred

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE LAWMAKERS on Wednesday moved rapidly, and some critics said rashly, to ban any device that could be used to increase the rate of discharge of a firearm. The bill’s passage came 10 days after a shooter in Las Vegas is believed to have used a “bump stock” device to rain(...)

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Mass. mayors back AG on assault weapons

Mass. mayors back AG on assault weapons

Officials are part of Healey's effort to win support for her actions

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY faced a barrage of criticism in the weeks following her announcement of stepped up enforcement of the state’s assault weapons ban, but the state’s top prosecutor and her allies have spent the better part of the past week trying to change the narrative by highlighting support for(...)

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Last-minute bid to derail Healey gun rules

Last-minute bid to derail Healey gun rules

GOP leader files legislation with two days left in session

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY would be stripped of her authority to regulate firearms under a bill filed Friday afternoon by the state Senate minority leader. Sen. Bruce Tarr of Gloucester filed his “act to protect due process and strengthen public safety” 12 days after Healey announced her office would step up(...)

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5 AGs back Healey on gun directive

Opinion

5 AGs back Healey on gun directive

‘She is not exceeding her authority – she is exercising it’

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LAST WEEK, Attorney General Maura Healey issued an Enforcement Notice to provide certainty to Massachusetts gun dealers, gun manufacturers, and residents on how her office will enforce our state’s 18-year-old assault weapons ban and, specifically, to clarify which assault weapons are prohibited as “copies or duplicates” under the law. Since then, certain people have claimed that the Attorney General, in taking this(...)

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Downing backs Healey’s gun notice

Downing backs Healey’s gun notice

Pittsfield senator says AG in line with law's intent

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What follows is a statement Sen. Ben Downing of Pittsfield posted on his office website. Many of my constituents have asked about my position on Attorney General Healey’s recent “Enforcement Notice” on the Massachusetts Assault Weapons Ban. In the time since the Attorney General made the announcement, I have researched the statute under which the(...)

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Naughton slams Healey on gun rule

Naughton slams Healey on gun rule

'This is a misuse and overstepping of authority'

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE The House’s point person on public safety issues is questioning Attorney General Maura Healey’s recent action to crack down on the sale of copycat assault weapons in Massachusetts. Rep. Harold Naughton, the House chair of the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security and a major in the US Army Reserve, is(...)

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Baker seeks Healey gun clarification

Baker seeks Healey gun clarification

Cites ambiguities in her assault weapons directive

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER urged Attorney General Maura Healey on Tuesday to clarify her stepped up enforcement of the state’s assault weapons ban, warning that “ambiguities” in her legal notice for gun dealers could lead to an unintentional ban on many guns long considered legal in Massachusetts. Baker, in a letter to(...)

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56 lawmakers to Healey: Back down

Opinion

56 lawmakers to Healey: Back down

Object to Healey gun directive, its implementation

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What follows is a letter 56 House and Senate lawmakers sent to Attorney General Maura Healey on Saturday and released to the press on Sunday. The lead signers were the Republican leaders from the House and Senate. We are writing to express our strong concerns about your decision to issue an Enforcement Notice relative to the(...)

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Healey clears gun buyers

Healey clears gun buyers

AG may still go after dealers for sales of banned assault weapons

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ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY decided to allow those who bought nearly 2,300 assault weapons in Massachusetts to keep their new guns even though they were purchased after she ordered the sales stopped. But Healey has not backed away from her threat to levy criminal or civil sanctions against dealers who sold one of the banned assault(...)

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