A special report by Gun Owners’ Action League detailing the failure of twenty years of gun control in the Commonwealth.

December, 2018

Download a pdf of this report here.

Two decades ago the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed a sweeping set of new gun laws known as the Gun Control Act of 1998. It was passed on the heels of the Federal “Assault Weapons” ban in 1994. The Massachusetts’ legislation is listed in the legislative records as Chapter 180 of the Acts of 1998 and is commonly referred to as “Chapter 180.” The bill contained eighty sections of new gun law and was approved on July 23, 1998.

The following findings represent two decades of evidence after the passage of these new “gun control” laws. The report utilizes the latest available information at the time.

When determining the success, or failure, of gun laws it is vitally important to break it down into at least three major categories in order to determine the effectiveness. This is incredibly important, as different types of problems need different solutions. For instance, we would not try to solve a suicide issue the same way we would attempt to address a homicide issue. To rationally address a potential problem, success or failure the three major categories are:

Firearm Safety, as measured by firearm related accidental deaths; Criminal Use of Firearms, as measured by firearm related murders; Suicides by means of firearms.

Quite often the proponents of gun control simply use the term “gun death rate” as they tout the successes of Chapter 180. This method does not accurately reflect the true story as proven in the following findings.

Firearm Safety (Accidental Deaths)

Massachusetts has historically enjoyed a very low accidental death rate with guns. This is due to law abiding gun owners taking the lead in making safety programs widely available to the general public. Gun Owners’ Action League, and our local affiliates, have been providing firearm safety education for many decades. A parallel program is also provided nationally through the Hunter Education Program. Hunter Ed, as it is referred to, was established in 1970 and is funded through excise taxes on firearms. It should be noted that all of these gun safety programs are exclusively funded by gun owners themselves.

Historically and currently the government of the Commonwealth does not contribute any financial resources to gun safety programs. This is despite the millions of dollars in firearm licensing fees it collects on an annual basis. It is perhaps ironic at best that a state that supposedly prides itself on gun safety, actually takes no part in it.

One only needs to compare the accidental death rates with motor vehicles. In 1998 there were approximately 4.5 million licensed drivers in the Commonwealth resulting in 473 fatalities in motor vehicle accidents. Compare this to 1.5 million licensed gun owners (at the time) and only 2 accidental fatalities. Statistically there is no comparison in the safety factor.

As for accidental gun fatalities, since Chapter 180 was passed there has been no decrease in firearm related accidental deaths. Perhaps that is because statistically there never was a problem. That statement is always hard to accept in a society when it is often said “if it only saves one life”. But the harsh realty is that in 2015 Massachusetts lost 1,751 to overdoses/poisons, 732 to falls and 416 people to transportation related accidents. Only one person was killed that year in a gun accident and the data does not reflect if that may have been as a result of criminal activity. The evidence clearly shows that Massachusetts gun control laws, including mandatory gun storage laws, have had no effect on accidental deaths.