Berkshire residents and officials join the debate at the statehouse … – Berkshire Eagle

The state House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony from citizens, guns rights groups, firearms trainers, district attorneys, Catholic clergy, anti-gun groups and others during a public hearing for what has become a lightning rod of a sweeping gun-related bill on Tuesday.

The bill, HD.4607, An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws, has sparked opposition in the Berkshires, with the Cheshire Select Board, Police Department and town leaders going so far as to send a letter to state Rep. John Barrett III, D-North Adams, asking him not to support HD.4420, the original iteration of the bill.

The bill proposes another step to apply for a gun license namely, an interview with a police officer. It also proposes additional license qualification criteria: applicants cannot have a harassment prevention order against them, nor can they pose a risk to public safety/themselves. The bill would also essentially ban ghost guns, or untraceable, homemade firearms.

The bill further regulates the states assault weapons ban, training for owners and where people are allowed to carry guns.

Signs dotting Berkshire lawns imploring people to stop bill HD.4420 and to contact your state rep, bear the numbers of the originally proposed law, and not the current proposal. The House released amended language last week, with changes where serial numbers are required on guns to combat "ghost guns," and updates a list of banned firearms.

Vicki Zacharewicz of Pittsfield, a volunteer with the Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action, said that shes had conversations with people in Pittsfield and all over Berkshire County about the new proposed laws, and shes heard support.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive, she said. Ive met with members of the District Attorneys office as well as the Pittsfield Police Department, and they support efforts to strengthen gun safety measures.

Second Amendment supporters, as well as Cheshire officials, have argued that the bill doesnt allow possession of commonly used guns. The revised bill seeks to limit that concern by grandfathering in guns already legally owned that will be regulated by the proposed law.

The proposed law says that people must obtain permission to carry a gun before entering a private commercial or residential space its still up to businesses whether to allow firearms. It also would implement a uniform statewide training regimen.

Zacharewicz said Pittsfield Police gave Moms Demand Action 100 gun locks, and the organization has given away more than a third of them in a few months.

Even in this beautiful rural area which I live, it is not difficult to find stories about unsecured firearms in childrens homes, she said.

Zacharewicz noted that Mount Greylock Regional School District and Pittsfield Public Schools adopted secure storage resolutions that commit the schools to disseminate this information to parents on an annual basis.

Anne Thalheimer spoke to the committee in support of the proposal, and evoked the tragic 1992 shooting at Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, when a student killed 18-year-old student Galen Gibson and 37-year-old professor Nacunan Saez.

The killer, Wayne Lo, also wounded four others with a semiautomatic assault rifle. Thalheimer said if the proposed law were in place, it would have prevented the shooting.

Among opponents, Michael Harris of the Gun Owners Action League was the first of many to decry what he called disdain from the government toward gun rights. Others said they felt like they were being treated as second-class citizens for owning a gun.

Multiple people who spoke in opposition to the bill were more militantly opposed, stating succinctly, I will not comply. Several opponents took to yelling, one even swore at the committee.

Thomas Swenson of Fitchburg said he believes that the motivation behind the legislation is retribution against the Second Amendment community following the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling in the Bruen case. That ruling struck down a New York state law requiring persons seeking a license to carry a concealed weapon to show "proper cause" that it was necessary for their protection.

Multiple opponents to the bill made frequent references on Tuesday to violence in inner-city neighborhoods, and said the bill does nothing to stop gang violence.

Members of the Black and Latino Caucus stated their strong support for the bill, arguing that the reason for Massachusetts comparatively low level of gun deaths is because of the states stringent laws.

Still, state Rep. Bud Williams, D-Springfield, pointed out more has to be done: In Springfield in 1999 there were seven murders in the whole city. Fast forward to 2023 and theres 27. Thats way too much.

Domestic violence survivor advocates said the bill goes a long way in keeping guns out of the hands of violent/potentially violent partners. One speaker, Jody Marchand, who was in support of the bill, recalled her husbands killing of their 17-year-old daughter in 2010 following a domestic dispute.

More than 160 people were signed up to speak at the beginning of the hearing, which ran into the evening. A House vote and debate on the bill could come as early as this month.

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Berkshire residents and officials join the debate at the statehouse ... - Berkshire Eagle