AG Healey's 2016 Enforcement Notice on Assault Weapons

On July 20, 2016, Attorney General Maura Healey issued an Enforcement Notice^[1] announcing a crackdown on the sale of "copycat" assault weapons in Massachusetts. The notice provided guidance on identifying copies or duplicates of enumerated assault weapons banned under Massachusetts law.

Two New Tests

The enforcement notice established two tests^[2] for determining whether a firearm is a prohibited "copy or duplicate":

1. Similarity Test: A weapon is a "copy or duplicate" if its internal functional components are substantially similar in construction and configuration to those of an enumerated weapon (e.g., AR-15, AK-47). If the operating system and firing mechanism are based on or substantially similar to an enumerated weapon, it qualifies.
2. Interchangeability Test: A weapon is a "copy or duplicate" if it has a receiver that is the same as or interchangeable with the receiver of an enumerated weapon.

Impact

Plaintiffs in Worman v. Healey alleged that the notice retroactively criminalized the transfer of "tens of thousands of Massachusetts Compliant Firearms."

No Retroactive Enforcement

The AG's office stated the notice would not be enforced retroactively against gun owners who bought or sold these weapons prior to July 20, 2016. This date later became a key cutoff in the Chapter 135 grandfathering provisions.

Legal Challenges

The enforcement notice was challenged in Worman v. Healey. The district court dismissed the claim aimed at the notice itself and entered summary judgment for the defendants on the Second Amendment and vagueness claims. The First Circuit affirmed on the Second Amendment claims, the only claims appealed. Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 later added a statutory definition of copies or duplicates that requires the ability to accept a detachable magazine and either substantially similar internal functional components or the same or an interchangeable receiver.