National Association for Gun Rights Files Lawsuit Against Massachusetts’ Assault Weapons Ban

On May 30, 2023, the National Association for Gun Rights announced its decision to sue the state of Massachusetts over its 1998 “assault weapons” ban which was broadened in 2016.

This Massachusetts law prohibits the sale and possession of the majority semi-automatic firearms and standard capacity magazines. Then-Governor Mitt Romney signed the bill into law in 1998. 

 The first hearing was held on the morning of May 30 at 9:00 AM.  Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV oversaw the case. He was appointed by President George W. Bush.

 “Massachusetts has been directly violating the Second Amendment for decades,” stated Dudley Brown, President of the National Association for Gun Rights. “Under Bruen, there is no doubt in my mind the days of Romney’s Assault Weapons Ban are numbered. The National Association for Gun Rights will see to it that the rights of the people of Massachusetts are restored.”

 “As Governor, Romney signed a gun ban so egregious that many Democrat lawmakers wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. More recently, as the junior Senator from Utah, Romney has taken part in virtually every gun control compromise since taking office in 2019,” Brown continued. 

 The NAGR lawsuit contends the Massachusetts gun ban violates the 2022 Supreme Court decision NYSRPA V. Bruen, which ruled that gun control laws must base their justification in the history, text, and tradition of the Second Amendment.

 “This law bans firearms that are in common use throughout the United States, including the most popular rifle in America. Our members are chomping at the bit to snuff out semi-auto bans nationwide, and taking a hatchet to the Romney gun ban will be a tremendous feather in our cap,”  said Brown in a concluding remark.

Massachusetts is one of the most anti-gun states in the nation. According to Guns & Ammo magazine best states for gun owners rankings, Massachusetts is ranked in 47th place. Due to the anti-gun nature of the state legislature, there’s no real chance of legislative reforms occurring in the state anytime soon. 

However, the courts could provide some relief to gun owners. And the good news is that organizations like NAGR can actually make this happen. Hopefully, more pro-Second Amendment organizations pick up on this trend and use the courts to push back against certain forms of gun control. 

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