Legislative updates, court decisions, and regulatory changes affecting Massachusetts firearms law.
EOPSS has issued four guidance letters on Chapter 135 implementation. The letters address dealer obligations, roster compliance, training requirements, and administrative procedures during the transition period.
Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, originally filed as HD 4420, is the most significant overhaul of Massachusetts firearms law in over two decades. Signed on July 25, 2024 and effective October 2, 2024, it introduces new definitions, expands prohibitions, narrows the FID, expands the ERPO framework, bans untraceable firearms (ghost guns), and faces a 2026 ballot referendum.
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 July 20, 2016, Attorney General Maura Healey issued an enforcement notice reinterpreting the "copy or duplicate" language of the Massachusetts assault weapons ban. The notice established two new tests that effectively banned most AR-15 and AK-pattern rifles, even those previously sold as MA-compliant.
Signed by Governor Deval Patrick on August 13, 2014, Chapter 284 eliminated the Class B LTC, reformed the suitability standard with new procedural protections, established a 90-day renewal grace period, and expanded junior shooter provisions. It was the most significant reform prior to Chapter 135.
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.
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