Days after latest school shooting, Mass. legislators host Moms Demand Action

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted Jennifer Robinson of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

BOSTON - Some people attending the annual advocacy day to reduce gun violence at the Massachusetts Statehouse Wednesday were there because their lives had been changed by gun violence. Others were there because of an overarching concern with the level of gun violence in the United States.

“It’s a question of public safety,” said Debbie Biechele of Athol, who drove the 150-mile round trip with her husband, Guy, because of her concerns with the increase in gun-related violence. “People need to feel safe in public places, in churches, schools, while shopping.”

As a mother who raised two children, she felt she had to speak up, not just because of her concern for her own family but because of her concern with all families. A former worker in social services, she is familiar with gun violence and the havoc it can wreck on lives.

“Legislators have to hear from the people, have to pass laws, common sense laws,” to reduce gun violence, Bichele said. “It’s not a question of banning all guns, rather it’s a question of being safe and keeping guns out of sensitive areas.”

Just two days after the latest school shooting, more than 150 advocates packed the Gardner Auditorium at the Statehouse to show support for bills filed this session. Robinson said the day of advocacy was a yearly event, not related entirely to the incident in Nashville, Tennessee. However, the Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was born following the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting in 2012.

“We want the legislature to pass an omnibus bill that addresses gun violence prevention,” said Jennifer Robinson of Moms Demand Action. “We want legislation to close loopholes, keep up with technology and amplify already strong laws.”

The state did take steps last year to counteract what could have resulted in challenges to Massachusetts laws when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen case. The court declared local police do not have discretion when deciding whether to issue a concealed carry permit, ruling that local discretion violates a citizen’s Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Other measures range from allowing victims of gun violence to sue the firearms industry, to legislation regulating “ghost guns” defined in the legislation as untraceable, do-it-yourself, homemade firearms.

The advocates also want Massachusetts to finally quantify crime gun data, information about firearms used in crimes, it has been collecting for years. Other measures include requiring applicants for gun permits be required to take gun safety lessons from how to shoot and how to safely store a weapon as well as a provision that would have applicants practice using the weapon before purchasing one.

Despite stringent laws, gun violence remains an issue

Majority Leader Sen. Cynthia Creem, D-Newton, recognized that Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. However, she also recognized that gun violence is still a fact of life in the state.

“We still make headlines,” Creem said. She said gun violence is a public health issue and the state must focus on reducing violence, while increasing funding and support for programs that deter youth and at-risk adults from violence.

Rep. Michael Day, D-Stoneham, touted his ongoing listening tour of Massachusetts where he engages in discussions about gun regulations and gun violence.

“This will result in legislation,” Day promised the crowd. He said he was not yet aware of what the legislation would look like but predicted the state would take steps toward gun violence prevention during this 193rd legislative session.

“We’ve been on the Cape, in Plymouth, Worcester. We’ve learned about street violence, gun collectors, hunters, ghost guns,” Day said.

The Mothers Demand Action group hosting the event and its coalition partners discussed the need to continue collecting but also analyzing data, as well as the need for funding to support victims of gun violence, survivors of domestic violence and survivors of homicide.

Laverne Gordon, a survivor of domestic and gun violence, spoke of her mother’s experience with an abusive partner and of her own.

“Children witness abuse,” Gordon said, explaining that those children tend to become victims or perpetrators of domestic violence. In college, Gordon said, she was trapped in an abusive relationship that she was too ashamed to admit to, even when an emergency room doctor pointed out that injuries being treated were not consistent with her story - that she fell in the shower.

“He asked me if I needed help,” Gordon said. That question precipitated a reaction of shame and fear. Afraid that if she sought help, she would be ousted from her college and fired from her job, that her family would learn she was in a violent relationship.

Junction of gun, domestic violence

It was when her former partner started harassing her, broke into her home, stalked her at work, at school and in her neighborhood that she acted.

Gordon urged the state to address that intersection of gun violence and domestic violence and ensure that applications for firearms permits continue to include information about mental health histories and past violence.

Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League, said the organization works closely with the state and has pushed for a “top-down, section-by-section review” of the state’s myriad gun laws. He called them a "devil's snare."

“We are hoping to have a legitimate discussion about legislation,” Wallace said. The group started working closely with legislators in 2014, shortly after the Newtown school massacre, to draft criminal laws and school safety laws. He said some of those measures have yet to be implemented.

The group requested the state use state police to promulgate information about safe storage of firearms, on firearm safety training and how to sign up for programs. Wallace said that those requests haven't been implemented on a statewide basis.

“Before we draft new laws, let’s implement laws that are on the books already,” Wallace said. “There are so many laws in place,” that disentangling the Gordian knot is challenging. “It will be a commonsense law when you can hand an explanation to the average person and they can figure it out and comply.”

To improve Massachusetts firearms safety measures, Wallace would like to see the state allocate funds to support its firearms training mandate.

Massachusetts has a 32-step process for people who want to purchase a firearm including mandatory trainings.

“It’s not a question of walking into a retailer and throwing cash on the counter,” Wallace said, adding that while the state "talks a great game" when it comes to firearms safety, there's no money where its mouth is. There's no funding for firearms safety training, for safe storage training or even information on how to signup for training programs, Wallace said.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Mothers Demand Action rally, urge state lawmakers to revisit gun laws