In a 120-38 vote, Massachusetts House lawmakers passed legislation that would tighten its gun control laws and crack down on certain firearms.

The measure would expand the New England state’s grip on unregistered “ghost guns” and assault weapons.

2nd Amendment rights advocates labeled the bill, H. 4135, “the worst anti-gun legislation in the country.”

“It would mandate that key gun components be serialized and registered with the state, it proposes an enhanced system to curtail the flow of illegal guns into the state, and it seeks to modernize the existing firearm registration system,” The Epoch Times reports.

“It would also expand the state’s ban on assault weapons by prohibiting the purchase of AR-15-style weapons and would ban the conversion of a legal firearm into an illegal automatic weapon,” the outlet added.

Per The Epoch Times:

The proposed regulation would outlaw possession of firearms while intoxicated and prohibit firing guns near homes. It would ban carrying firearms in polling places, schools, and government buildings. It also provides for expanding the state’s “red flag” laws, which allow judges to suspend gun licenses of people deemed to be at risk of harming themselves or others.

The passage of H. 4135 has been severely criticized by gun rights advocates. In an Oct. 18 statement, the National Rifle Association of America-Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) denounced lawmakers, asking supporters to contact their state senators and “voice their opposition” to the bill.

“H. 4135 re-writes gun laws in the Commonwealth and imposes unprecedented gun control. This is an ominous bill that includes the worst anti-gun legislation in the country,” it stated.

NRA-ILA warned that the bill imposes “widespread bans on commonly owned firearms,” eliminates due process through expanded “red flag” laws, expands gun registry programs, and places an “extreme financial burden” on gun owners.

“The comprehensive gun safety reform legislation that the House passed today will make Massachusetts residents safer, and will further strengthen the Commonwealth’s status as a national leader in the effort to combat gun violence,” said Democrat Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano.

“While Massachusetts annually ranks as one of the safest states in the entire country from gun violence, the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision nullified existing components of our gun laws, threatening the safety of the Commonwealth’s residents,” he added.

“With the passage of this legislation, the House has once again displayed an unwavering commitment to ensuring that Massachusetts remains one of the safest states in the country,” he said.

“The 125-page bill — a priority for Democratic Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano — is in part a response to a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that U.S. citizens have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense,” the Associated Press stated.

Per AP:

The state Senate has yet to release its version of a gun bill. It will be up to both Democratic-led chambers to hammer out a single bill to ship to Democratic Gov. Maura Healey’s desk for her signature before it can become law.

Gun owners opposed to the bill say the measures outlined in the legislation do more to target gun owners than to reduce crime.

“All of it goes against us, the lawful people. There’s nothing in there that goes after the criminals,” said Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners’ Action League.

Wallace also said the bill is an overreaction to last year’s Supreme Court decision.

“This is a tantrum. This is a flat-out tantrum,” he said.

Supporters of the bill say it will help address holes in the state’s gun laws, while also responding to the Supreme Court ruling.

Read Bill H. 4135 HERE.

In related news, a federal judge overturned a three-decade-old assault weapons ban in California, ruling the state’s attempt to prohibit sales of semiautomatic guns unconstitutional.

2nd Amendment Victory! Decades-Old Gun Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

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