Attorney General Andrea Campbell has tapped a rural litigator who previously worked for a gun control advocacy group to head up a new unit aimed at reducing gun violence.
Gun control
Posted inGuns
Gun legislation finally gets public hearing
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BAY STATERS OF ALL STRIPES finally got the chance Tuesday to tell a panel of state representatives how they feel about a proposed overhaul of the state’s gun laws, and they poured out hours of impassioned commentary that sets the stage for a contentious House vote. Gun control and gun safety […]
Posted inGuns
Mariano says gun bill needs more work
HOUSE SPEAKER Ronald Mariano sent an email to all House members Monday night dropping his bid to gain quick passage of omnibus gun control legislation and instead pledging to address over the next several months questions and concerns raised by lawmakers. “The House believes that we must thoroughly evaluate all of the proposals made over […]
Posted inGun ownership
Our state gun laws need some updates
IN MASSACHUSETTS, we often congratulate ourselves for having strong gun laws. And we should. Evidence shows that there are fewer gun violence fatalities here than in states with laxer laws. In 2019 and 2020, Massachusetts was rated as the state with the lowest rate of gun deaths by The Education Fund to Stop Gun Violence. […]
Posted inGun ownership
Gun control redux
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And again, and again. US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat running for president, and US Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, on Thursday introduced the Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act, a bill the sponsors say, “includes and builds upon Congressional Democrats’ strongest gun safety […]
Posted inThe Download
Gun control redux
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And again, and again. US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat running for president, and US Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, on Thursday introduced the Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act, a bill the sponsors say, “includes and builds upon Congressional Democrats’ strongest gun safety […]
Posted inOpinion
Still at it after 25 years
LIKE MANY PEOPLE, I remember where I was and what I was doing on December 14, 2012, when news broke that a shooter had taken the lives of 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. And, like many in the wake of the sadness and horror, I thought this […]
Posted inOpinion
Bill would overturn local gun ordinances
THE LEGISLATURE’S PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE will hear public testimony on firearms bills on Wednesday. In roughly equal numbers, the 68 bills before the Committee would either tighten gun control in the state or loosen it. One of the bills proposing to loosen gun control, House 2122, would prohibit cities and towns from enacting or enforcing […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Did Liss-Riordan overstep on Second Amendment?
FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS about American’s constitutional right to bear arms are roiling the Massachusetts Democratic primary for US Senate. After mass shootings, a distressingly occurrence in American politics, the debate typically focuses on incremental changes to gun laws that might be possible in our polarized political environment. But after two back-to-back mass shootings this past weekend […]
Posted inGuns
Does attention to shooting miss the mark?
YESTERDAY’S DAYTIME FATAL SHOOTING of a taxi driver near the Prudential Center in Boston was the top story among local media outlets throughout the day and it’s the lead front-page story in both Boston daily newspapers this morning. The argument for the flood-the-zone coverage, of course, is that the more out of the ordinary an […]