With criticism coming from all directions, including the governor, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey on Wednesday doubled down on her recent “reinterpretation” of state law, which resulted in banning thousands of guns that were previously legal.
The governor, state legislators and others questioned Healey’s unilateral ban, with Public Safety and Security Secretary Daniel Bennett writing, “Depending on how your office is interpreting the two-part test you have articulated for determining whether something is a ‘copy or duplicate’ of a listed assault weapon, a large number of firearms, including pistols that have been sold here legally for decades, may be unintentionally affected.”
For her part, Healey pooh-poohed that suggestion. “I don’t think that’s accurate,” she told the Boston Globe. “I stand by our actions here.” Healey added that the matter might eventually be up to the courts to decide.
NRA is still assessing all legal and legislative options to protect the rights of Massachusetts gun owners. Stay tuned.