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Question 9

Question 9: Referendum on an Act Modernizing Firearm Laws (Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024)

On the ballot

Massachusetts · November 2026 general election · Referendum · Election day November 3, 2026
Topics: Civil rights, Criminal justice, Public safety

In plain language

Question 9 is a veto referendum on Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws, which the Legislature passed and Governor Maura Healey signed in July 2024. A yes vote would keep the law in place; a no vote would repeal it. The law replaced the state’s assault weapon ban with a broader ban on assault-style firearms, required a safety certificate to obtain a firearm license, required serial numbers and an electronic registration system, restricted carrying firearms in schools, government buildings and polling places, and expanded who may ask a court for an extreme risk protection order.

Fiscal impact

No official fiscal note has been issued for this measure yet.

When the state publishes a fiscal analysis, it will appear here and be listed in the sources below.

What supporters and opponents say

These are summaries of arguments made by the named organizations, drawn from the sources listed below. They are their claims, not this site's, and this site takes no position on the measure.

What supporters say

  • The Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, which supports a yes vote, says the law gives the state more tools to address what it calls a public health crisis, and that it is committed to protecting the law from repeal.
  • Governor Maura Healey (D), who signed the bill, has said she opposes suspending or repealing it.
  • The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Progressive Massachusetts and the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts support upholding the law.

Attributed to Yes for a Safe MA.

What opponents say

  • The Civil Rights Coalition, chaired by Cape Gun Works co-owner Toby Leary, is campaigning for a no vote and says gun rights are civil rights and that allowing the right to keep and bear arms to be eroded puts other enumerated rights at risk.
  • Opponents gathered more than 90,000 signatures in 2024 to force the referendum; the coalition has also objected that Governor Healey’s emergency preamble let the law take effect immediately instead of being suspended pending the vote.
  • The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action has characterized the law as radical gun control.

Attributed to The Civil Rights Coalition.

Official ballot language

The certified ballot text is not yet available for this measure. Once the state certifies it, the verbatim wording will appear here.

Sources

Everything on this page traces to these sources. Follow them to read the original documents.

Last updated . How this page is sourced and corrected is described in the correction policy.