Bill Would Prohibit Cities and Towns From Creating Their Own Gun Laws

By R. Erin Lenth

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS — Massachusetts state law currently allows its counties and municipalities to supersede state firearm permit laws by adding stipulations and requirements. State Rep. James Miceli, however, has introduced a state preemption bill that would make state law the law.

The bill would create a preemption of local laws, disallowing counties and municipalities from “passing or enforcing ordinances or regulations concerning the lawful ownership, use, possession, transfer, purchase, receipt or transportation of weapons, antique weapons, ammunition or ammunition components.”

Miceli says that the bill “makes sense” because it “strives for a balance between towns and the state government.”

Jim Wallace, the executive director of the Gun Owners’ Action League, an organization that works to “protect and restore Second Amendment freedom in Massachusetts” says that current state law has “created a patchwork of laws across the state, and soon it will be untenable if (the state doesn’t) get in control of it quickly.”

Miceli knows the bill will face certain opposition: “I don’t think it’ll be a priority for the committee, but I’ve got to convince them that this makes sense,” he said.

Stop Handgun Violence director Zoe Grover, who opposes the measure, says the bill is “dangerous” and that current …Read the Rest

Source:: Concealed Nation