DEDHAM, Mass. — Massachusetts voters will decide this November whether to keep or repeal a wide-ranging firearms law that was signed in 2024.
Question 9 asks voters whether to keep the law in place. The measure expanded firearm regulations in Massachusetts, including changes to licensing requirements, restrictions on certain firearms, and where guns can be carried.
What would Question 9 do?
A “yes” vote on Question 9 would keep the current law in place.
Supporters say the law updates existing firearm regulations to address technological advances in weapons, strengthen public safety measures, and improve tools available to law enforcement and public health officials.
The law adds new training and testing requirements for applicants for firearm licenses and firearm identification cards. It also expands regulations surrounding so-called “ghost guns,” firearms that do not have traceable serial numbers.
What’s at stake?
Dr. Michael Ulrich, a professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University, said the law is designed to update Massachusetts firearm regulations.
“Yes on 9 leaves in place a firearm law that is meant to update and improve the safety regulations in Massachusetts,” Ulrich said.
The measure also restricts carrying firearms in certain locations, including schools and polling places, with some exceptions.
Supporters argue regulations on ghost guns are particularly important because firearms without serial numbers are difficult for investigators to track when used in crimes.
“Because there is no serial number, there’s no way to track it,” Ulrich said. “For law enforcement in particular, anytime a ghost gun is used to commit a crime, it becomes that much more difficult then to find the potential perpetrator.”
Extreme risk protection orders
The law also expands who can ask a court for an extreme risk protection order, which can require someone deemed a danger to themselves or others to surrender their firearms.
Current law allows certain individuals to petition the court for such orders. The 2024 measure broadens that list to include school administrators.
Supporters say the change could help address concerns involving potential threats of violence.
“They allow people defined by the law to say, ‘We are worried about this individual who has a firearm legally, but we’re worried that they are going to use that firearm to harm either themselves or others,’” Ulrich said.
Why do opponents want to repeal it?
Opponents argue Massachusetts already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country and say the measure creates additional bureaucracy and confusing requirements.
They contend the law places new burdens on legal gun owners as well as local police departments without necessarily improving public safety.
When will voters decide?
Massachusetts voters will weigh in on Ballot Question 9 during the Nov. 3 election.
For more coverage of the 2026 election, click here.
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