Representative Michael Day, the bill sponsor of HD.4420, realized that his bill was going nowhere and decided to revise it. HD.4607, the rewrite, has some changes, but will still turn virtually all law-abiding sportsmen of any age into felons. HD.4607 does have changes in it and provides for some limited grandfathering, but it still contains much of the same language and more from HD. 4420.
Generally, bill hearings in Massachusetts are heard in joint committee, which contain members of both the House and Senate. However, after HD.4420 was held up in the Joint Judiciary Committee and the House has decided to deviate from the norm and conduct a public hearing on HD.4607 with only the House Ways and Means Committee and House members of the Joint Judiciary Committee. This House-only hearing is tomorrow, Tuesday, October 10 at 11:00 a.m. in the Gardner Auditorium at the State House. The hearing can also be viewed online at https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/4741.
House Speaker, Ron Mariano, has already indicated a vote on HD.4607 will take place later this month. Please use our Take Action button to email your state Representative urging him/her to OPPOSE HD.4607. Let your representative know HD.4607 is not the answer and will further add to legal backlog by turning the law-abiding into criminals.
The Senate is still working on its own version. We will update you as soon as we hear of any action on the Senate version.
Don’t forget to share this important alert with your family, friends, and fellow sportsmen urging them to email their state Representative asking him/her to OPPOSE HD.4607. The Bay State will need all its sportsmen and gun owners working together to stop HD.4607.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
