BOSTON (WHDH) – Weeks after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Senator Ed Markey sponsored a bill that would make Massachusetts gun control laws a model for the rest of the country.
In 2014, Massachusetts passed sweeping gun reform legislation that in part, limited who could buy a gun. The legislation also gave local police chiefs the power to approve or deny a gun license.
“The police chiefs in Massachusetts aren’t limiting anyone,” Sen. Markey said.
Sen. Markey’s plan would give state a $20 million yearly incentive to adopt the standards.
Local police say it’s still too easy to get guns in nearby states.
“We can have all the toughest laws in the world here in Massachusetts, but when you can go across the state line and basically purchase without a license or permit, it does not good,” Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said.
The Gun Owners Action League, however, said the state has some of the worst laws in the country.
In a statement, they said: “If we, as a nation, want to be serious about addressing the atrocities along the likes of Newtown and Parkland the key is mental health. The $20 million dollar Markey Bribe would be better spent starting to address the severe mental health crisis we have in this country.”
Others say it is no different from other national standards.
“We require licensing training and safety for automobiles, but not real firearms that result in 40,000 deaths,” John Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence said.
Massachusetts has the lowest number of gun deaths in the country. Advocate say it is because of the tough gun laws.
The bill’s future faces an uphill battled in the Republican-controlled Congress.
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