Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) signed into law a package of gun-control laws Wednesday that will take the Bay State’s callousness towards the Second Amendment one step further.
Signed gun safety legislation today that builds on MA's nation leading gun laws and makes our communities safer. pic.twitter.com/PDB7Vh5H9H
— Deval Patrick (@MassGovernor) August 13, 2014
The multi-faceted law titled "An Act Relative to the Reduction of Gun Violence," includes tougher penalties for gun-based crimes. As reported by the AP:
Another part of the law mandates Massachusetts join the National Instant Background Check System, which requires the state to transmit information about substance abuse or mental health commitments to a federal database that police can use to review firearms applications.
Patrick has praised the measure, despite the fact that lawmakers failed to include his proposal that would have limited individuals to the purchase of no more than one gun per month.
The new law also increases the penalty for carrying a firearm on school grounds; increases the punishment for being armed with a firearm while carjacking; creates penalties for transporting firearms into the state for criminal activity or unlawful distribution; establishes penalties for gun dealers who fail to report a lost or stolen weapon and mandates that an individual whose license to carry firearms has been revoked, suspended or denied must surrender all guns in their possession.
Mom's Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a gun-control advocacy group, commended Patrick for the added security measures.
The law goes into effect immediately. You can read more about the law in my previous post.