BOSTON - Attorney General Maura Healey on Monday lit into the Gun Owners Action League of Massachusetts, a group that has ramped up its efforts to oppose Healey's crackdown on "copycat" assault weapons.



Appearing on WGBH's "Boston Public Radio" show, Healey said her office has heard from opponents of her move "because they oppose any action on guns."



"If you ask them, well what would you do, the answer is, they come forward with nothing," she said during the radio interview. "Absolutely nothing. And they reject any effort to enforce existing laws or take steps to address gun violence prevention and gun safety in any meaningful way."



The Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) says Healey overstepped her authority, while Healey's office says "copycat" assault weapons have been illegal in Massachusetts since 1998.



Healey said Monday that she has heard from other gun owners and "everyday folks" from around Massachusetts who have told her she has their support.





Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is seen during a hearing in Boston in January,

Four Massachusetts gun shops, joined by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, have filed a lawsuit calling Healey's crackdown "unconstitutionally vague, invalid and unenforceable."



Separately, GOAL has called on Gov. Charlie Baker to rescind his nomination of Christopher Barry-Smith, a top aide to Healey, to a Superior Court judgeship. A Baker spokesman told State House News Service last week that the administration doesn't conduct litmus tests on nominees, who are "highly experienced candidates to the bench."



GOAL, on its website, has also said Healey's crackdown "turned hundreds of thousands of law abiding families and individuals who own guns into 'felons in waiting' overnight."



On WGBH, Healey called the statement "more propaganda" from GOAL, adding that the organization wants to "politicize" the situation.

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"There's no such thing as a situation that I've created, felons in possession," Healey said. "That's something they're saying out there, they're trying to get out there, to create more opposition."



Her move, announced in July 2016, does not affect pre-existing possession of "copycat" weapons, and her office is enforcing the law as a "going-forward" issue, she said.



Healey said if someone in Massachusetts has a "copycat" assault weapon and they want to sell or transfer it, they can't do it in Massachusetts, but there are other ways. She said if people have questions her office has posted information on the attorney general's website.



GOAL disagrees. "In her enforcement notice she has basically promised not to prosecute anyone prior to that date, but she could change her mind at any point," the group said on its website. "It also does not mean that another government official can't use it against you."