According to Boston 25 News, Governor Healey intends to sign an “emergency preamble” to the sweeping gun law legislation passed earlier this year.
The new law was not scheduled to take effect until October 23, 2024. But Healey appears to be rushing its implementation in an effort to avoid a potential ballot question on the issue.
The Boston 25 News article says,
Gov. Maura Healey plans Wednesday to immediately implement a sweeping gun reform law, in the process blocking opponents who appear to be on the verge of suspending the law for more than two years until voters get the final say.
A spokesperson for the governor said Healey will sign an emergency preamble for the law finalized this summer, allowing many provisions to take effect right away instead of on Oct. 23, which is 90 days after the governor signed the law.
The move will put much of the law into place immediately and push off the table the temporary suspension that opponents were eyeing as they pursue a 2026 ballot question to repeal the wide-ranging measure.
The same article reports,
Opponents led by several gun owners groups and Second Amendment supporters are pursuing a ballot question to repeal the law. The group, which dubbed itself The Civil Rights Coalition, criticized Healey’s decision on Tuesday and alleged an immediate start to some of the restrictions, especially on so-called long guns, could put gun shops out of business.
To put the referendum before voters in 2026, the campaign must file at least 37,287 signatures with local elections officials by Oct. 9. The state Constitution lays out a second, higher target for signature-gatherers — 49,716 this time around — that would pause the law from taking effect until the election where the question will appear.
But there’s a catch: if the governor declares a law an emergency law, it cannot be suspended as part of a referendum campaign.
If they can make the ballot, the groups who see the 115-page law as an unconstitutional overreach will now have a slightly different task. Instead of convincing voters not to let the measure take effect, they will need to make the case to undo a law that by that point will have been in place for more than two years.
The governor’s blog (which posts updates on a daily basis) has not mentioned the new preamble. Nor has the governor announced the decision on her x.com profile.