Could Massachusetts Voters Sink New Gun Control Bill?

Massachusetts could take down a 2024 gun law rammed through the state legislature in the aftermath of a landmark Supreme Court ruling if a campaign by pro-Second Amendment activists succeeds Tuesday.

Harold Hutchison · Nov 1, 2026 · 3 min read

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Could Massachusetts Voters Sink New Gun Control Bill?

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Massachusetts could take down a 2024 gun law rammed through the state legislature in the aftermath of a landmark Supreme Court ruling if a campaign by pro-Second Amendment activists succeeds Tuesday.

After the Supreme Court struck down New York’s discretionary system for issuing concealed carry permits in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen in June 2022, Massachusetts began the process of altering its gun laws to comply with the high court’s decision. Like other states who had “may issue” systems for issuing permits similar to New York’s, however, Massachusetts’s lawmakers seized the opportunity to enact additional restrictions on law-abiding gun owners. Furthermore, outside backers of the legislation, such as Moms Demand Action, spoke at rallies and events held by anti-Second Amendment groups, according to Gun Owners Action League (GOAL).

The police are three minutes away. What do you do until they arrive?
Protect your right to protect your family. Vote No on 9 on November 3.
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— Cape Gun Works (@capegunworks) October 31, 2026

Pro-Second Amendment activists, such as the Gun Owners’ Action League (GOAL), previously secured nearly 100,000 signatures to put a referendum on the 2026 Massachusetts ballot to ask if Bay State voters supported H.4885, a gun-control law passed in 2024. Such a move would normally block the law from taking effect until after the referendum, but Democratic Gov. Maura Healey had added an emergency provision Oct. 1 to keep the law in force.

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Lawmakers added provisions in the legislation that further restrict modern semiautomatics, imposing registration criteria that targeted certain muzzleloaders, added new license requirements to own any semiautomatic firearm, imposed new stipulations on home-built firearms, and added training prerequisites for those seeking carry permits.

Nonresidents were also made to have to jump through additional hoops, including the requirement to acquire a “temporary” license to carry, as well as having to register all firearms and comply with the state’s serialization requirements. The legislation even made it impossible for an out-of-state resident to take any child hunting in the state.

“GOAL has serious concerns about the exemptions in § 129C being used properly by the state. Nonresidents found in possession of firearms have been treated so harshly in MA since the passage of Ch 135 [sic], that GOAL’s worry is that even if one can prove they’re transporting the proper firearms in the proper manner, it will not insulate them from prosecution,” the pro-Second Amendment group states on its website, responding to a February 2026 legal opinion from a partnering attorney. “While these exemptions should prevent such a situation, the current legal climate created by Ch 135 could still result in many hours and funds being spent on defending oneself in court.”

Neither GOAL nor the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence responded to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Most Massachusetts voters appear to support the gun-control measure, with 70% of respondents to a poll released by the MASSInc Polling Group saying they were inclined to vote “yes” on the measure, which would allow it to remain in force. The survey of 800 likely voters was conducted from Sept. 14-22 for the CommonWealth Beacon.

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Rankings the crowd is fighting over