Why Massachusetts Gun Owners Are Facing a Total Uphill Battle at the Ballot Box This November

America is preparing to celebrate its 250th anniversary and the Revolutionary War that patriots waged to secure certain "unalienable rights" as articulated in the Declaration of Independence and spelled out later in the U.S. Constitution. Meanwhile, gun owners in Massachusetts say the Second Amendment, which protects the individual right of citizens to keep and bear arms, is in danger due in part to voter apathy.

They also say elected officials have passed "illegal and unconstitutional" gun laws in Massachusetts to disarm the population.

Those gun owners are locked and loaded and prepared to restore the rights they say the Massachusetts Legislature and Governor Maura Healey have unjustly stripped away.

Massachusetts Gun Owners Locked And Loaded For Civil Rights Battle

The Road to the November Ballot Box

The Massachusetts Civil Rights Coalition has gathered and certified enough signatures to force a ballot question this November to repeal what is known as "Acts of 2024 Chapter 135, An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws."

The law is described as a sweeping gun control law that expands background checks, ghost gun regulations, and red flag laws, which also prohibit firearms in certain public places.

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The move to repeal is led by the Civil Rights Coalition and others who say Massachusetts officials are using taxpayer dollars to "take away your Second Amendment rights" by funding opposition to the ballot question.

Massachusetts Gun Owners Locked And Loaded For Civil Rights Battle

"It doesn't matter if you want to own a gun or not, you have that right and we all have to fight for it," said coalition member Bill Bachant. "If they can strip this constitutional right from citizens, they will try to strip others as well."

Deciphering the Confusing Referendum Language

Bachant said gun owners are facing a "total uphill battle" because Attorney General Andrea Campbell drafted the referendum, which seeks to repeal the gun law, in a way that will confuse many voters.

A "yes" vote would not repeal the law but would uphold it, so voters must vote "no" if they want to overturn the law. Bachant said the referendum question has yet to be assigned a number, making it more difficult to promote the effort to voters.

Echoes of 1775 and the Fight Against Voter Apathy

Bachant said "the biggest problem is apathy" in trying to convince voters to fight to defend their constitutional rights. Think about this: if modern Massachusetts gun laws existed in 1775, we might still be British.

The election is on November 3, 2026.