BOSTON (WHDH) - Massachusetts lawmakers say they’re trying to add more measures to the state’s already-strict gun regulations after a gunman killed seven people at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
In 2018, officials passed the Extreme Risk Protection Order, or the “Red Flag Law,” which allows a judge to take guns from someone in crisis after family members or police petition the court.
“There are a lot of checks and balances currently in Massachusetts, whether it’s the permitting process, the Extreme Risk Protection Order, the various other restraining order processes that really limit the ability for a person to do what happened in Illinois,” said State Rep. David Linksy, who added he’s proposing laws that would ban ghost guns and close loopholes in the state’s assault weapons ban. “I’m hoping we can get that on the governor’s desk and we are constantly sure that Massachusetts remains the safest state in the continental United States as far as gun prevention is concerned.”
But Ruth Zakarin, the executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, said public awareness is also important. The Extreme Risk Protection Order law has barely been used since going into effect, she said.
“A law is only as helpful as the amount of folks who know about it — so without a widespread campaign we worry that there are families and people out there that could benefit from the protection but may not know it’s available to them,” Zakarin said. “We also want to make sure medical providers, mental health providers are very aware so they can counsel their population on how to access these orders.”
Lawmakers have recently added an education component to the order, and are reviewing and tightening existing gun laws.
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