Governor Healy signs expanded Massachusetts gun‑safety law targeting ghost guns, serialization and red‑flag procedures

BOSTON — Governor Healy signed a sweeping set of gun‑safety measures Tuesday, saying Massachusetts must modernize its laws to meet new technologies and to protect communities.

"We're here because Massachusetts is the leader in smart, strong, common sense gun laws," Healy said, thanking legislative leaders, survivors and law‑enforcement partners who joined the signing. She listed priorities the law addresses, including measures to "combat ghost guns and 3‑D printed guns" and to "strengthen our red flag law," and said the package includes investments in community‑based violence‑prevention work.

Legislative leaders at the ceremony described the bill as a response to recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings and a continuation of the Commonwealth's long‑standing firearm‑regulation tradition. House Speaker Ron Mariano said the state had to correct what he described as a misguided court decision and noted the bill had already drawn a legal challenge. "We're being sued by the NRA, which I think is a real badge of honor," Mariano said.

Senate President Karen Spilka and Majority Leader Cindy Creem called the law a model that other states could follow. Creem highlighted a slate of provisions she said are life‑saving: criminalizing possession of conversion devices such as Glock switches and autosears, expanding the state’s authority to address unserialized "ghost guns" by treating unfinished frames and receivers as firearms, requiring serialization and improving how criminal‑incident data is reported to guide enforcement and prevention.

Chief Thomas Fowler, speaking for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, said the association appreciated the collaborative process and called the bill "balanced," noting the law will expand definitions and give police new tools while recognizing constitutional rights.

Survivor advocates also spoke at the event. "My name is Juanita Bachelor," she said, describing the 10‑year struggle after the 2014 death of her son and her work founding the Daryl Lee Jenkins Jr. Resource Center to support families affected by homicide. She told attendees she was "thrilled" to see provisions addressing ghost guns and crime‑gun data analysis included in the bill.

The governor asked participants to move to a signing desk and formally enacted the bill into law. Officials at the ceremony said the package includes changes to licensing review by allowing courts and law‑enforcement agencies to share information about involuntary mental‑health hospitalizations when assessing suitability for a firearm license, and new training expectations for licensees. Supporters said those changes, together with serialization and restrictions on conversion devices, will help law enforcement trace weapons and reduce proliferations of untraceable firearms.

The signing closed a multiyear effort that included conference‑committee negotiations, listening tours and collaboration between lawmakers, law‑enforcement leaders and advocacy organizations. Officials at the event said they expect legal challenges and said they are prepared to defend the new law in court.

The bill was signed into law at the ceremonial signing desk; officials did not record a roll‑call vote at the event. Implementation responsibilities and specific guidance for enforcement and licensing were described as next steps for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and other agencies.