(WesternMass News- Amanda Callahan) In the past six months, both the Massachusetts House and Senate passed bills aimed at gun reform in the state.
Now, negotiations will begin with the hopes of putting together a bill the two sides can agree on before the end of the legislative session at the end of July.
We got answers on some of the key differences between the two bills – digging deeper into how repeat violent offenders are being addressed.
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Meanwhile, the Senate has some other ideas – including annual inspections for gun dealers by Mass State Police, prohibiting guns in government buildings, banning marketing guns to minors as it’s illegal for them to have possession, and holding repeat violent offenders behind bars if they commit another crime while out on bail for the initial gun related offense.
This, an amendment proposed by State Senator John Velis, who said, “You can’t say with a straight face, ‘we want to do something about gun violence,’ if you don’t have the conversation that this amendment captures.”
This addition to the Senate’s version of the bill passed unanimously and Velis told Western Mass News that it stemmed from the shooting that happened in early October in Downtown Holyoke where a pregnant woman was caught in the crossfire while riding on a PVTA bus. That shooting later claimed the life of her to-be son.
“I really care about that woman and that baby who never had a chance, more so than I do the individuals who pulled that trigger,” he explained. “And this is what led me to file that amendment, one of those individuals in that case the week before – the week before – was arrested on a gun crime.”
Holding repeat offenders responsible is something Velis hopes will survive the conference committee, as he says the majority of gun crimes in the state involve those with prior convictions and, or illegal weapons.
“Anytime you talk about gun bills and gun violence, I think part of that equation needs to be in some shape, form, or fact, targeting who is responsible for gun violence.”
While this is not something included in the House’s gun bill from October – Representative Angelo Puppolo Jr. has been pushing for his own bill aimed at keeping repeat offenders behind bars, beyond just those facing gun related charges, and he supports Senator Velis’ provision.
He explained, “If we can get this language added to any bill that we send to the Governor for final passage, it would be great. Our bill goes a little bit farther, but if we can keep one person off the streets from committing a crime with a gun, it’s going to make the community safer.”
Puppolo feels the Senate’s amendment is a step in the right direction when it comes to holding repeat offenders accountable and working to keep communities safe.
“We understand bail is not meant to be punitive. It is in the constitution. We are not looking to use bill as a weapon to be punitive. What we are doing is trying to keep habitual offenders behind bars, so they are not out in the community committing more crime.”
While there are several key differences in the bill, there are some items both the house and senate agree on. Ghost guns.
Velis elaborated, saying, “The obvious problem with ghost guns is you can’t trace them.”
Meanwhile, Puppolo said, “We certainly need to make sure that we keep ghost guns off the streets. We have to stop at people being able to purchase guns or parts on amazon and creating ghost guns that have no registration.”