Public Safety Committee Releases Exec. Report on Bills

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http://www.goal.org/news/Legislative/2008committeereport.htm

Public Safety Committee Releases Exec. Report on Bills

On Wednesday, March 19, 2008 the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security released the report of bills from its executive session. This report lists those bills that the Committee recommends for passage into law (Favorable), bills that shouldn't pass (Adverse) and bills that are placed into "Study". Bills placed into a "Study" rarely see the light of day for the remainder of the legislative session.

The news was mixed but slightly favored a pro-civil rights stance. Every piece of anti-civil rights legislation was placed into study. Unfortunately GOAL's Fair Licensing Bill and our bill to correct the AG's interference in purchasing ammunition were also sent into study.

On a positive note, some GOAL bills were released favorably. These include (Please our legislative chart for a complete list.):

S1400 "An Act Relative to Property Rights"

S1401 "An Act Prohibiting the Confiscation of Lawfully Owned Firearms During a State of Emergency"

S1359 "An Act Relative to Certain Ammunition"

H2326 "An Act Relative to Firearm Statistics"

The Committee also released a bill to remove the licensing laws for pepper spray, H2385 "An Act Relative to Increasing Accessibility to Non-lethal Self Defense Sprays". The bill does include an age restriction for possession and purchase at 18. It also adds some penalties for "offensive use" and restrictions for protection orders. In all it is a bill worth supporting.
 
from page 11 here: http://www.masschiefs.org/documents/April 2008 Newsletter.pdf

Two unexpected
pieces of legislation made their way to the forefront in the
last several weeks
. The first is a bill (SB 2481) that would
dramatically increase the cost of ammunition for departments
and may even shut down many outdoor police firing
ranges. This bill is currently in the House and chiefs should
call their Representatives and ask that an exclusion for law
enforcement
be inserted into the bill.
 
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Senate Bill 2481

http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/185/st02/st02481.htm

This bill has been batted around for awhile now and has been dumbed down sigificantly from where it started.

GOAL, NSSF, and the NCL all responded to this months ago and raised concerns about this bill not just driving the cost up, but banning lead ammunition altogether.

GOAL can add to this, but right now there's nothing in here that would increase the cost of ammunition, but it does begin the "slippery slope" and needs to be watched carefully.

BTW, don't you just love the fact that the "Chiefs Of Police" are suggesting an exception for "themselves"? I didn't realize it was an US vs. THEM mentality...we're all on the same side here aren't we? The law-abiding citizen and the Police departments should be working together - not against each other.
 
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Here is what I posted in this thread: Gun owners protest police action

here:
It makes me wonder just how many laws are on Massachusetts' books right now which exempt LEO's from the laws which the rest of us have to live by. I wonder if these exemptions were to be pulled, what LEO's would think of our current legal system, and how much support they would give politicians when they want to put blue uniforms up behind them on a stage. I think we know the answers to some of these, but the sheer number would be interesting.
 
So, what is the status on various bills? Which are still stuck in committee, which are sent "for study" (dead), and which are passed on favorably to other committees? Of these, where does attention need to be focused?
 
So, what is the status on various bills? Which are still stuck in committee, which are sent "for study" (dead), and which are passed on favorably to other committees? Of these, where does attention need to be focused?

This was detailed in the latest Outdoor Message - being a GOAL member should enable you to look that information up - I assume?
 
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