For Immediate Release:
Boston, MA. – Today, Toby Leary, Chairman of the Civil Rights Coalition and leader of the effort to repeal H.4885, sharply criticized Governor Maura Healey for considering an emergency preamble to implement the flawed law, undermining the signature drive to suspend it. With a single stroke of the pen, Healey risks putting as many as 400 stores out of business and turning tens of thousands of law-abiding citizens into felons, simply for owning guns they have lawfully possessed for years.
Leary is urging the public to call the Governor’s office at 617-725-4005 to oppose the signing of the emergency preamble, which would strip away rights and threaten the survival of local businesses.
“Governor Healey is eroding our constitutional rights, dismantling the petition effort, and shutting down more gun stores than COVID ever did,” said Leary. “If this were truly a public health emergency, she would have enacted the preamble when the bill was signed back in July. Now that we are close to gathering the signatures needed to suspend the law for two years, she’s invoking an emergency preamble to sidestep the will of the people. She’s acting more like a dictator than a governor. As a store owner, I’m faced with two choices—break the law to stay open or stop selling guns and close my business. After a decade of hard work, my state government is trying to destroy my business's future.”
If Governor Healey signs the emergency preamble for Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, rifles and shotguns would be reclassified into the same category as handguns overnight. This new classification would prohibit their sale until a roster is published—a process that could take years. These items are a crucial revenue stream for gun shop owners, and the reclassification would make law-abiding gun owners felons overnight. It is estimated that the Commonwealth could lose over $1 billion in related transactions.
The law does nothing to combat or regulate crime. Instead, it unfairly targets peaceable citizens and small businesses.
The Civil Rights Coalition estimates that over 85,000 residents of the Commonwealth have engaged in a six-week grassroots campaign to repeal the flawed law, making it the largest grassroots movement in over two decades.
“How many residents need to speak up before the Governor listens to the people? Who is she to destroy livelihoods built over a lifetime? What industry will be next on her list?” Leary questioned. “Her blatant disregard for the will of the people is not just deeply concerning, it sets a dangerous precedent. She is undermining democracy itself.”
The Civil Rights Coalition needs to collect 37,287 signatures to place the issue on the ballot in 2026. If they collect 49,716, the law will be suspended, allowing voters to decide its fate on the 2026 ballot. This effort isn’t just about firearms—it’s about defending the fundamental principle of individual liberty.
#mapoli @MassGovernor #tyranny #democracy
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