Legislative updates, court decisions, and regulatory changes affecting Massachusetts firearms law.
The Massachusetts SJC heard oral arguments in March 2026 on whether the age-21 LTC requirement violates the Second Amendment under Bruen.
On August 22, 2025, the NRA, GOAL, Pioneer Valley Arms, and four individual plaintiffs filed suit challenging the Massachusetts assault-style firearms ban enacted by Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
In April 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction against the Massachusetts assault weapons ban in Capen v. Campbell. The case remains pending for full adjudication. The plaintiffs have petitioned for Supreme Court review.
On June 23, 2022, the Supreme Court held 6-3 in NYSRPA v. Bruen that New York's "proper cause" requirement for concealed carry permits violates the Second Amendment. The decision established a new historical tradition test that replaced the means-end scrutiny framework used by lower courts.
On April 26, 2019, the First Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court in Worman v. Healey, upholding both the Massachusetts assault weapons ban and AG Healey's 2016 enforcement notice. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on June 15, 2020.
On June 28, 2010, the Supreme Court held 5-4 in McDonald v. City of Chicago that the Second Amendment individual right recognized in Heller is incorporated against state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.
In a landmark 5-4 decision on June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, unconnected with militia service, for traditionally lawful purposes such as self-defense in the home.