AMHERST — In 2024, Gov. Maura Healey signed a sweeping overhaul of the state’s gun laws. On Nov. 3, voters will decide whether to keep it.
The law, Chapter 135, restricted untraceable “ghost guns,” changed licensing and training requirements, and expanded access to extreme risk protection orders, which allow courts to temporarily remove firearms from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.
The measure appears on the ballot as Question 9. A “yes” vote would uphold the law, while a “no” vote would repeal it.
Supporters and opponents have spent the fall making their case, and the debate keeps returning to one central question: Would stricter rules prevent firearms from being used to cause harm or would they mainly burden people who already follow the law? That question dominated several recent forums, including one at the Amherst Police Department and another at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Advocates on both sides support public safety but sharply disagree over whether the law advances that goal.
Suicide, domestic violence and school shootings have been at the center of that disagreement, with each side arguing over whether tighter regulations can prevent deaths in...