'Yes on 9' gun law ballot question supporters rally with Gov. Healey, teachers union

Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald on Sep 20, 2026

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The “Yes on 9” campaign rallied with Gov. Maura Healey and teachers Sunday, supporting the 2024 gun law in question they say “keeps Massachusetts safe.”

“The mission here today is is clear: to prevent gun violence and to protect our families,” said Healey, in a crowd of gun safety advocates at the Boston Teachers Union hall Sunday. “To work to ensure that every community here in Massachusetts is safe. We need to keep on the books laws that are working, laws that are about protecting communities and protecting public safety.”

Question 9, one of nine total ballot initiatives headed before Massachusetts voters this November, proposes a repeal of a 2024 comprehensive gun safety law, maintaining the tighter rules with a yes vote and restoring older regulations with a no vote.

The law in question includes many provisions, including allowing positions like school administrators, healthcare providers and police to seek “red flag” orders and requiring gun owners to register all firearms with the state.

“The 2024 Gun Safety Law strengthened Massachusetts’ approach to preventing gun violence by addressing these emerging threats, including regulating ghost guns for the first time in the history of the conflict,” said Ruth Zakarin, chair of the “Yes on 9 For A Safe Massachusetts” campaign. “It addresses machine gun conversion devices, getting in front of that and making that a state felony. It expands tools to intervene before violence occurs, such as expanding petitioners for extreme risk protection orders. And it ensures that our laws continue to meet the moment and keep pace with the realities facing our communities today.”

“No on 9” supporters, including the MassGOP and gun rights advocates, argue the law steps in unconstitutional territory and “threatens our most fundamental rights.”

Tufts researchers in a ballot question voter guide said it is “too soon to know the full benefits and drawbacks of the 2024 law” and noted Massachusetts has “among the strictest” gun laws in the country.

Advocates at the event Sunday included American Federation for Teachers and Boston Teachers Union member, both of which endorsed the campaign, along with Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden.

AFT president Jessica Tang said Sunday advocates need to “counter the disinformation and unethical tactics that the gun lobby is using,” stating that “this question is not about creating new laws; it’s about upholding the evidence-based ones that are already working.”

Tang also said the state has “consistently had one of the lowest gun death rates in the nation” and cited data after the most recent gun law showing gun violence drops of 20% in Springfield, 16% in Chelsea and 13% in Lynn.

Hayden shared prior incidents of gun violence with relation to protections in the 2024 law, including the 2023 mass shooting of eight people during a Carribean festival that involved a gun converted to be a fully automatic weapon.

“The repeal of this law will eradicate critical investments in gun violence prevention strategies and programs,” said Hayden. “There is nothing in this law that keeps legal guns out of the hands of responsible, licensed citizens, everything in this law is aimed at public safety and responsible ownership. I urge the Massachusetts voters to make sure this balanced, safety-first legislation remains.”

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