By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Massachusetts gun owners are probably facing another attempt by anti-gunners in 2023 to mandate live fire exercises in order to qualify for a firearm license, and Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) is trying to get a step ahead.
“A bill is likely to be filed within the next couple of weeks,” he predicted.
The Legislature convenes in early January.
In a recent alert to GOAL members, Wallace recalled, “For several years Gun Owners’ Action League (GOAL) has been fighting against legislation to mandate so-called “live fire” mandates. The proposals would require anyone seeking a firearm license to undergo a certain amount of live fire training. Some of the bills require a certain number of rounds fired or time spent doing it. Even a few gun owners have said it just makes good sense, comparing it to driving before getting a driver’s license.”
But wait, Wallace observes. Driving is not a protected right. Having a gun is a right, and in Massachusetts, where the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired because British Regulars marched on Lexington and Concord for the purpose of seizing militia arms and ammunition, it should be a sensitive subject. Apparently not, however, as he noted in a telephone conversation the “live fire” mandate has been proposed over the past few years.
“The question we continue to ask with these efforts is: ‘What problem exists that these proposals are intended to solve?’,” Wallace posited. “The clear answer is, there aren’t any problems. Lawful gun owners in Massachusetts do not have an accidental death problem so why the need to require live fire training?”
He says it is “just another hurdle” gun control proponents want to erect for gun owners in the Bay State.
Wallace says GOAL has approximately 140 affiliated clubs, but not all of them have their own gun ranges. Some have also set maximum membership limits. There are no state ranges in Massachusetts, he added.
He is also concerned that gun ranges could be shut down again for some emergency, as they were during the COVID-19 scare two years ago.
“Keep in mind that during the COVID lockdowns,” Wallace wrote, “the Baker Administration singled out the 2A community and shut down all things related to exercising our rights. They intentionally shut down our ranges, the retailers and even mandatory training courses. In short, the government blocked access to mandates that prevented new people from acquiring a license. Knowing this was done intentionally, why would the 2A community ever agree to more mandates?”
“The state doesn’t spend any money on firearms safety,” Wallace said, “not a dime.”
Instead, Massachusetts anti-gunners expect gun owners to jump through an increasing number of hoops to exercise a constitutionally-protected right. Wallace expects the fight to re-ignite right after the holidays.
