GREENFIELD – Views from across the spectrum were aired at Greenfield Community College Tuesday evening as part of the third installment of the Legislature’s panel discussion and listening tour on gun laws.

“We have a strong network of laws that encourage responsible gun ownership and a common sense system that preserves our resident’s constitutional rights while also ensuring the safety of our community,” said Rep. Michael Day, D-Stoneham, who led the tour. “The system, as we all know, is far from perfect.”

Before introducing a panel that included representation from law enforcement, firearm dealers and instructors, and recreational firearm users, Day shared that he was tasked by Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, to conduct a comprehensive review of the state’s gun laws. Tuesday’s stop at GCC was the third of nearly a dozen scheduled stops to focus on different aspects of the state’s web of laws and regulations relating to firearms.

“Our communities face challenges that are far from novel,” Day said. “Issues such as suicide, domestic violence, drug-related and organized crime have been with us for some time … Yet we also hear from responsible gun owners, collectors and hunters, that say the laws in our books are confusing and outright contradictory, that compliance is challenging, especially as neighboring states have completely different approaches.”

Panelists included Hadley Police Chief Michael Mason, who serves as president of the Western Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, gun shop owner Toby Leary and former environmental police officer John Pasak.

“Our Chapter 140 with Massachusetts firearms laws is extraordinarily confusing,” said Mason. “It’s very hard to learn, it’s very hard to know, and ...there are some contradictory things in there.”

Mason explained the licensing process, which includes background, mental health and criminal history checks, fingerprinting and interviews, noting that the process could be streamlined. With interviews in particular, he added, there are no guidelines for what is expected of local law enforcement to ask.

Leary, who explained that for his gun shop alone he is required to have 10 different licenses, added that different towns have different standards or expectations with respect to initial licensing. Leary also argued the “restrictive licensing scheme” is “inconveniencing the people you don’t need to worry about.”

He said the “vast majority” of gun owners are law-abiding and trying to do their best to obey the law – a sentiment others in the audience echoed.

“It’s maddening the minutia and the confusion of it, just so people can try to do the right thing, try to be compliant with the law,” Leary said.

While there were numerous people in the audience who agreed with this sentiment, others spoke in support of certain laws to strengthen gun safety. In particular, there were representatives—including some from the county—from Moms Demand Action, a group that advocates for “commonsense solutions to prevent gun violence.”

In particular, Robin Neipp of Leyden expressed support for a number of bills, including H.2380, which addresses gun industry accountability, H.2307, which aims to expand gun violence reporting requirements, and H.2365, which would require approved safety courses for people seeking a license to carry to include at least five hours of live-fire training. Another bill, H.305, would require the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education to develop information about secure storage of firearms, the risk of child access to firearms and suicide prevention materials.

“I really appreciate the panel today and I appreciate the listening tour,” said Neipp.

Others in the audience shared concerns that guns have become the number one cause of death in children. One woman encouraged the responsible gun owners in the room to lend their voice to the issue, improving education.

A majority of those who spoke during public comment, however, argued that more laws weren’t going to “stop criminals,” but rather punish “law-abiding citizens.”

“Do you honestly think pushing more laws through is going to stop the criminals?” asked Gill resident Greg Parody.

Several residents said that when illegal guns are confiscated in relation to violent or drug-related offenses, they’re often not the first offense of the person involved.

“In Hadley and in Western Mass, with the exception of major cities like Springfield, we don’t come across illegal firearms very often,” Mason said. “When we do, it’s usually … a dangerous situation. I’ll echo what [Paysak] said: a lot of the people we come across, this is not a first-offense situation.”

There was also a consensus among some that there were external issues that need to be considered in the conversation on gun violence, particularly mental health.

Renee Gagne of Taunton, speaking as a member of the DC Project: Women for Gun Rights, said she was grateful for the opportunity to be in a room full of diverse views on the subject.

“We may not agree but we all want the same things,” said Gagne said. “We want safe communities and we’re looking for effective solutions for that.”

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.

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