HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2935        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2334

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Carlos González

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to tracking, tracing and stopping illegal firearms.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2935        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2334

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 4926 OF 2021-2022.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to tracking, tracing and stopping illegal firearms.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 140 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after 131Q the following section: -  

Section 131Q 1/2. There shall be an illegal firearm tracking and tracing task force, which shall consist of 9 members to serve staggered 3 year terms each. 1 member shall be appointment by the Governor, 2 members shall be appointment by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Caucus, 1 member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House, 1 member shall be appointed by the Senate President, and 3 of those 9 members shall come from a “gateway municipality,” pursuant to Section 3A of Chapter 23A of the General Laws.

The purpose of the task force shall be to determine where in the Commonwealth illegal firearms are prevalent, where the illegal firearms are coming from and where the illegal firearms have the most impact on crimes of violence and suicides. The task force shall make annual report and recommendations to be submitted to the Chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, the Speaker of the House, the Senate President, and the Attorney General to be considered in their efforts to build policy and legislation to address firearm violence by the end of each fiscal year. The task force shall operate within the Department of Public Safety and Inspections.

SECTION 2. Section 123 of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the figure “131A”, in line 567, the following words:- ; provided further, that no person licensed under the provisions of said section 122 shall sell or transfer firearms, rifles, shotguns, or machine guns at any regular meeting of an incorporated collectors club or at a gun show that does not have a unique serial number or other mark of identification engraved or permanently affixed to the firearm in a manner that conforms with the requirements imposed on licensed importers and licensed manufacturers of firearms pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 923(i), as amended from time to time, and any regulation adopted thereunder; provided further, that no person licensed under the provisions of said section 122 shall create using a 3D printer any component parts of a firearm to be sold, traded or transferred at a incorporated collectors club or at a gun show; provided further, that no person licensed under the provisions of said section 122 shall sell or transfer at any regular meeting of an incorporated collectors club or at a gun show component parts of a firearm to construct a firearm or plans to manufacture of fabricate a firearm. 

SECTION 3. Said section 123 of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following 2 paragraphs:-

No person organizing a regular meeting of an incorporated collectors club or a gun show shall permit a person to enter the meeting or gun show without verifying that the person possesses a firearm identification card pursuant to section 129B of chapter 140 or a license to carry firearms pursuant to section 131 of said chapter 140. Whoever permits a person without a firearm identification card or license to carry firearms to enter the meeting or gun show shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000. 

No person shall attend a regular meeting of an incorporated collectors club or a gun show that has not been issued a firearm identification card pursuant to section 129B of chapter 140 or a license to carry firearms pursuant to section 131 of said chapter 140. Whoever attends a meeting or gun show without a firearm identification card or license to carry firearms shall be punished by a fine of not more than $300.