BOSTON (CBS/AP) — About 2,000 gun rights advocates have rallied outside the Massachusetts Statehouse to protest Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey’s crackdown on the sale and manufacture of what she’s called copycat assault weapons.

Activists attending the Saturday rally said Healey is taking rogue actions that will turn thousands of gun owners into “future felons.”

Some waived “Don’t Tread on Me” flags. One held a poster depicting Healey with a Hitler moustache and the words “Heil Healey.”

Healey on Wednesday sent an enforcement notice to gun sellers and manufacturers clarifying what constitutes a “copy” or “duplicate” weapon under the state’s assault weapons ban, including copies of the Colt AR-15 and the Kalashnikov AK-47.

“If a gun’s operating system is essentially the same as a banned weapon or if a gun has component parts that are interchangeable with a banned weapon, it’s a copy, it’s a duplicate and it’s illegal,” she said during a news conference.

Healey said the rule won’t be enforced against gun owners who bought weapons prior to the notice being sent out.

Protesters attempted to get Gov. Charlie Baker’s attention as they chanted his name outside the Statehouse.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030’s Kim Tunnicliffe reports



WBZ NewsRadio 1030’s Kim Tunnicliffe and WBZ-TV’s Katie Brace contributed to this report.

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