Legislative updates, court decisions, and regulatory changes affecting Massachusetts firearms law.
EOPSS has issued at least five numbered guidance letters on Chapter 135 implementation, the latest located being Guidance #5 dated September 18, 2026. The letters address dealer obligations, roster compliance, training requirements, and administrative procedures during the transition period.
Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, enacted from H.4885 of the 193rd General Court, 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's summary judgment for the defendants in Worman v. Healey, holding that the Massachusetts assault weapons ban survives intermediate scrutiny. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on June 15, 2020.
On July 20, 2016, Attorney General Maura Healey issued an enforcement notice providing guidance on identifying copies or duplicates of enumerated assault weapons banned under Massachusetts law. The notice set out two tests for deciding whether a firearm is a copy or duplicate of an enumerated weapon.
Approved August 11, 2014, Chapter 284 eliminated the Class B LTC, revised suitability procedures, established a renewal grace period, and expanded junior-shooter provisions. It was the most significant Massachusetts firearms reform before 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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