Firearms Regulation
A referendum on the gun law the Legislature passed in 2024 — unlike the other eight questions, here a YES vote keeps the law and a NO vote repeals it.
A YES vote
Keeps the 2024 gun law (Chapter 135, "An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws") in effect. That law created a real-time electronic firearm registration system, expanded the state's assault weapons ban, required a safety certificate to get a firearm ID or license to carry, mandated serial numbers on homemade guns, let school administrators and healthcare providers petition for risk-protection orders, and allowed courts to order firearm surrender alongside harassment-prevention orders.
A NO vote
Repeals the 2024 law, reverting to the rules Massachusetts had before it — which were already among the strictest gun laws in the country, including license requirements, safety training, sales tracking, and family-initiated red-flag petitions.
Who this affects
- Gun owners and firearm license applicants, who'd face new registration and certificate requirements under a yes vote
- Firearms dealers
- Police departments that issue licenses and handle red-flag petitions
Who's for it, who's against it
Supporters say
Yes for A Safe Massachusetts is campaigning to keep the law in place — a YES vote.
Opponents say
The Gun Owners' Action League organized the repeal drive and gathered the signatures to force this vote, campaigning through its committee, The Civil Rights Coalition, for a NO vote. Smith & Wesson is that committee's largest donor to date.
Who's paying for the campaigns
Funding the YES side
Yes for A Safe Massachusetts is campaigning to keep the law in place; its total spending wasn't broken out in available filings.
Funding the NO side
The Civil Rights Coalition is campaigning to repeal the law. Smith & Wesson is its largest reported donor to date, though full committee totals weren't broken out in available filings.
Figures reflect filings as of late August 2026 and will shift before Election Day.
Official summary and full text: Secretary of the Commonwealth, Information for Voters. Background and funding figures compiled from nonpartisan research by Tufts University's Center for State Policy Analysis and OCPF campaign finance filings.