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Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has signed an emergency preamble to the state’s sweeping gun control bill, fast-tracking its implementation and halting an ongoing effort by gun rights activists to delay its effects.

The law, H.4885, was originally scheduled to take effect on Oct. 23, or 90 days after Healey signed the bill in July, but her decision to proceed with signing the emergency preamble means it goes into effect immediately.

Under Massachusetts law, governors have the authority to issue an emergency preamble to expedite legislation when “the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or convenience” is deemed necessary.

The law’s expedited enactment was praised by gun control groups but sharply criticized by gun rights advocates, who had hoped to gather enough signatures to delay its implementation until a potential 2026 referendum.

H.4885 expands Massachusetts’ already strict gun regulations, in part as a response to the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which affirmed an individual’s right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.

The expedited law includes provisions banning untraceable “ghost guns,” expanding restrictions on “assault-style” firearms and large-capacity magazines, and tightening the state’s “red flag” rules. It also mandates that firearm license applicants pass a standardized safety exam and complete live-fire training, while also providing mental health information to local licensing authorities.

The governor’s decision to fast-track the law has drawn swift condemnation from gun rights organizations. Tody Leary, owner of Cape Cod Gun Works and a leader of the grassroots Civil Rights Coalition, sharply criticized the move, accusing Healey of bypassing the democratic process.

Leary said that the Civil Rights Coalition was on track to collect the 49,716 signatures required to suspend the law and place it on the 2026 ballot, adding that Healey’s emergency order circumvented that effort.

Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL), expressed similar frustrations, with the group issuing a statement denouncing the law as a “historic attack on our civil rights.” Wallace noted that Healey’s past actions had already strained relations with the state’s Second Amendment advocates.

GOAL, along with the National Rifle Association, pledged to take swift legal action.

By contrast, Healey’s decision was praised by the Massachusetts chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, part of the Everytown for Gun Safety network.

The law’s passage marks the culmination of nearly a year of efforts by gun control advocates to respond to Bruen and tighten the state’s already strict regulations. In addition to banning ghost guns and “assault”-style firearms, the law prohibits firearms at schools, polling places, and government buildings and increases penalties for shootings near residential areas.