Yesterday there was a hearing regarding, among other bills, an anti-gun bill submitted to the House by Governor Deval Patrick. At the hearing, we had six members who wished to speak against the bill, along with at least one member of the Gun Owners Action League. None of us were given a chance to speak. Lt. governor Tim Murray and Representative Sonya Chang-Diaz spoke in support of the bill.
This bill is in the Joint Judiciary Committee. We need to send our testimony against the bill to this committee. If you would like to write testimony against the bill, you can fax it to the House staff for the committee at 617-722-2819. If you do not have a fax machine, send your testimony to me at jboggiebla@gmail.com. Please help us to defend the right to keep and bear arms in Massachusetts.
Text of the bill: http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/house/186/ht04/ht04102.htm
GOAL's explanation of the bill: http://www.goal.org/templates/govsummary.htm
Comments
Members of the Joint Judiciary Committee
Here are the members of the Joint Judiciary Committee which currently has this legislation. Their GOAL rating is in parentheses.
http://www.mass.gov/legis/comm/j19.htm
State Senators
Cynthia Creem of First Middlesex and Norfolk- Chair (D)
Steven Baddour of First Essex - Vice-Chair (A+)
Gale Candaras of First Hampden and Hampshire (A)
Jack Hart of First Suffolk (C)
Thomas McGee of Third Essex and Middlesex (C)
Bruce Tarr of Essex and Middlesex (A+)
State Representatives
Eugene O’Flaherty of Chelsea - Chair (B)
Christopher Speranzo of Pittsfield- Vice-Chair (A)
James Fagan of Taunton (B)
Colleen Garry of Dracut (A)
Marie St. Fleur of Boston (D)
John Fernandes of Milford (B)
Katherine Clark of Melrose (D)
James Dwyer of Woburn (NR)
Danielle Gregoire of Marlborough (NR)
Lewis Evangelidis of Holden (A+)
Daniel Webster of Pembroke (A+)
If one of these legislators represents you, please contact Bob Dwyer at 508-930-5530 or myself, James Boggie, at 857-719-1432.
Testimony
I have received several pieces of testimony so far. They have been short but sweet. I would ask that you post your testimony on the thread as well, so that others who plan to write testimony know what other people have said. That way, we can make more strong points rather than rehashing the same one or two over and over again.
Tom Moor's Testimony
Tom Moor permitted me to post his testimony.
"Members of The Joint Judiciary Committee:
I am writing this testimony in opposition to H 4102.
This bill is not only bad, but dangerous, in a number of ways:
1) The underlying premise is that the state has the authority to decide how many guns its citizens may purchase in a given time period, in this case, one per month. So at some time in the future, this precedent having been set, the state could then decide to reduce that number to no guns per month. Perhaps this is the true object of the bill.
2) It attacks veterans and the elderly unfairly, in that it mandates new requirements for mental health and any history of alcoholism. Exactly what will these requirements be? Exactly how will they be enforced? Exactly what new regulations and new bureaucracy will be required, and how much will it cost the taxpayers of this state?
Our sister states of Vermont and New Hampshire both respect their citizens right to keep and bear arms and have very low crime rates in cities which our comparable to ours in population.
It is interesting that, one of the chief proponents of the bill (who spoke in the hearing I attended on July 14th) stated that eighty percent of all violent gun crime is committed by criminals with unlicensed guns anyway (criminals who would thus be unaffected by this legislation while your elderly and veteran constituents would be investigated and harassed).
In light of these and other infringements upon the liberties and privacy of the honest, gun-owning citizens of Massachusetts, I urge all you to vote NO on H 4102.
Thank you for your consideration.
In Liberty,
Thomas R. Moor II
Dedham, MA"
I thought this testimony was good. Most of the members of this committee have high GOAL ratings, so they should understand these concerns.
Pro-gun legislation news
from www.goal.org
Support: H.2259 Civil Rights and Public Safety Act, assigned to Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, 16 co-sponsors
Support: Act Prohibiting the Confiscation of Lawfully Owned Firearms During State of Emergency (Amended "Katrina" bill, not assigned number yet, amends H.1401 from last legislative session)
Judiciary Committee lobbied to not pass H.4102
Dan M and Laura C today lobbied the State House offices of all the members of the Judiciary Committee. They have also been receiving other communications against the bill.
State House lobbying, hearings
Hearings are a venue for people to express their pro or con testimony in a public meeting on proposed legislation. Affecting legislation is done mostly, primarily, and successfully through lobbying at the State House or at legislator's district offices. Constituents get more attention than non-constituents. For constituents not able to make in-person visits, faxes, emails, and phone calls also have an affect.