This story was published in partnership with Stateline.
In June 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law House Bill 4885, which regulates unserialized “ghost guns,” expanded the state’s red flag law, and banned machine gun conversion devices. Now, more than two years later, voters will decide whether to keep the law or scuttle it when they go to the polls next week.
The initiative is one of four on ballots across the country this midterm cycle that seek to expand gun rights. There are none that seek to strengthen gun laws.
Historically, gun violence prevention advocates have used ballot initiatives as a tool to put reforms directly in front of voters. And it’s worked. In 2014, voters in Washington state passed a universal background check measure, and in 2018 they voted to raise the age to legally own semiautomatic rifles, impose a waiting period on their purchase, and implement penalties for unsafe gun storage. In 2016, Nevada voters approved a universal background check initiative; that same year, California voters approved ammunition background checks and a large-capacity magazine ban…