The Civil Rights Coalition & Ballot Question Latest News
Press Releases | Current Headlines
May 28, 2025, Boston Herald
Bay State gun rights advocates air grievances during ‘surreal’ hearing
Gun rights groups said Massachusetts is attempting to solve a problem that does not exist with a with its new gun law, renewing their call for the suspension and revocation of …
June 19, 2025: Greenfield Recorder: New England Newpaper Family Op-Ed
My Turn: Massachusetts gun law closes no loopholes, solves nothing
At first glance, Robin Neipp’s recent column “Massachusetts must continue to lead on common sense gun laws” [Recorder, June 9] might sound reasonable until you realize the writer is endorsing a law she clearly hasn’t understood. Chapter 135 spans 116 pages of sweeping new gun laws and mandates that only punish the law-abiding while doing absolutely nothing to stop actual violence or criminals. Criminals will not obey a single sentence of this 116-page law.
May 1, 2025, Boston Globe
Gun advocates bring wave of challenges to state laws, capitalizing on Supreme Court ruling
From Boston to the Berkshires, gun applicants and advocacy groups have brought at least 15 challenges to the state’s license-to-carry law that have made…
April 29, 2025: Sentinel and Enterprise
Editorial: Mass. sticking to its stringent gun-control laws
From Boston to the Berkshires, gun applicants and advocacy groups have brought at least 15 challenges to the state’s license-to-carry law that have made…
A flash point over gun control: Can Massachusetts’ strict firearms law survive the 2026 ballot?
By Aditi Thube Boston University News Service
Massachusetts gun rights advocates are pushing to overturn a 2024 update of the state’s already tough firearms law, collecting more than 90,000 signatures to place a repeal referendum on the 2026 ballot.
Feb. 18, 2025, WGGB/WSHM
Massachusetts gun law challenged in federal court
By Taylor Smith
BOSTON, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – A federal lawsuit has been filed challenging a state law that prohibits adults from age 18 to 20 from acquiring, possessing, or carrying semiautomatic firearms and handguns.
January 8, 2025, MASSLIVE
Sen. Peter Durant will seek repeal of Mass. gun reform law
By John L. Micek
A Republican state lawmaker from central Massachusetts has launched a multi-pronged attack on the state’s new gun reform law, arguing it wrongly infringes on the “sacred right” to keep and bear arms.
The law “ … restricts our [ability] to carry and possess firearms,” state Sen. Peter Durant, R-Worcester/Hampshire, said Thursday, adding that the reforms in it “undermine the freedoms of law-abiding citizens and fail to address the root causes of violence.”
12-5-2024: Boston Globe
Question Challenging New Gun Law will appear on 2026 Ballot
Story by Anjali Huynh , Boston Globe
A challenge to the expansive firearms law signed this summer will officially appear on the ballot in 2026, after opponents of the legislation gathered more than double the number of signatures required to put it to voters.
Mass Democrats championed a new gun law. Now it faces Voter Backlash
Story by Anjali Huynh
BOSTON — When Massachusetts leaders overhauled the state’s gun laws in July, state Representative Michael Day issued a challenge to pro-gun groups threatening opposition: “Bring it on.”
And so they have.
“I thought it was rushed through and there were mistakes made. . . . Read More….
Boston Herald: Mass. Gov. Healey formally commends Cape Cod gun store owner leading repeal campaign
Story by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald
BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey issued a formal commendation to a Cape Cod gun store owner who is leading a campaign to repeal a firearms reform law only a week after she effectively stifled an attempt to immediately suspend the statute until the 2026 elections.
Toby Leary, owner of Cape Gun Works and head of the Civil Rights Coalition, received a formal citation in the mail Wednesday that recognized his “dedication to ensuring the rights and liberties of Massachusetts citizens are always preserved,” Read More….
October 27, 2024: Boston
WHDH Boxes of Ballots
Volunteers toting jam-packed white cardboard boxes dropped off nearly 100,000 voter signatures with the secretary of state’s office Wednesday, one of the final hurdles en route to placing a question on the 2026 ballot about repealing a new gun law.
Gov. Maura Healey this month signed an emergency preamble to the wide-reaching law, allowing it to take effect immediately and preventing opponents from suspending it through their repeal effort.
https://whdh.com/regional/gun-law-opponents-deliver-boxes-of-signatures
Gun rights advocates fight to repeal gun reform law, take legal action against Gov. Healey
October 31, 2024 The Civil Rights Coalition is leading an initiative to repeal a sweeping gun reform law signed by Gov. Maura Healey as an “emergency preamble” on Oct. 2 to implement H.4885, “An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws.”
Gov’s Emergency Gun Rule Triggers Debate Around Second Amendment Rights in State
Gov. Maura Healey signed an emergency preamble early this month that effectively put a new gun law into immediate effect, expanding Massachusetts’ preexisting firearms regulations—already some of the strictest in the country. Continue reading Gov’s Emergency Gun Rule Triggers Debate Around Second Amendment Rights in State… Read More
Gov. Maura Healey officially implements Mass. gun law after signing emergency language
Healey’s signature stifles an effort by gun rights groups to suspend the statute
Gov. Maura Healey officially declared a gun reform bill she signed into law more than two months ago an emergency measure Wednesday afternoon, arguing the statute is necessary to preserve the “public peace, health, safety and convenience” of residents in the state. Read More
Campaign to repeal Massachusetts gun law clears signature threshold for 2026 election
Secretary of State’s Office still needs to certify signatures gathered by gun groups
Massachusetts voters are in line to face a question during the 2026 election asking them to repeal a new gun law heralded by Beacon Hill Democrats after Second Amendment advocates reported collecting more than 90,000 signatures over the past month. Read More
Fall River Reporter: Campaign to repeal Massachusetts gun law clears signature threshold for 2026 election
Secretary of State’s Office still needs to certify signatures gathered by gun groups
Gov. Maura Healey this month signed an emergency preamble to the wide-reaching law, allowing it to take effect immediately and preventing opponents from suspending it through their repeal effort.
Fox News: Massachusetts governor implements new gun law weeks ahead of schedule
Gun advocates call state’s gun reform legislation a ‘historic attack on our civil rights’
State lawmakers approved the gun reform law in July, which was expected to go into effect later this month, and comes as the deep-blue state already has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation..
Opponents of new gun law look to overturn it through 2026 ballot question
August 21, 2024, Gun rights advocates would need to collect thousands of signatures to secure a ballot question about repealing the law.
Now, gun rights advocates are taking the first steps toward challenging the law. The process could eventually lead to a ballot question going before voters in 2026 about repealing the law.