Turnabout is Fair Play: Pro-Gun Initiatives On the Ballot in Four States Tomorrow

In June 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law House Bill 4885, which regulates unserialized “ghost guns,” expanded the state’s red flag law, and banned machine gun conversion devices. Now, more than two years later, voters will decide whether to keep the law or scuttle it when they go to the polls next week.

The initiative is one of four on ballots across the country this midterm cycle that seek to expand gun rights. There are none that seek to strengthen gun laws.

Historically, gun violence prevention advocates have used ballot initiatives as a tool to put reforms directly in front of voters. And it’s worked. In 2014, voters in Washington state passed a universal background check measure, and in 2018 they voted to raise the age to legally own semiautomatic rifles, impose a waiting period on their purchase, and implement penalties for unsafe gun storage. In 2016, Nevada voters approved a universal background check initiative; that same year, California voters approved ammunition background checks and a large-capacity magazine ban.

But in recent years, gun reform initiatives are few and far between. None made it to the ballot in 2024, though several were proposed. In 2022, Oregon voters narrowly passed a measure that would require permits and training to purchase guns, but it’s tied up in court and hasn’t been implemented. And in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hampered signature-gathering efforts.

Today, it’s gun rights advocates who are pushing several initiatives this cycle that seek to reverse gun violence prevention gains and expand gun access.

— Jennifer Mascia in Guns Are on the Ballot in Four States