Gun Enthusiasts Up in Arms Over AG's 'Copycat' Assault Weapons Ban

A move to close what the state's attorney general calls a "loophole" in Massachusetts' assault weapons ban has provoked outrage, and some confusion, among many gun owners and advocates in the state.

An enforcement notice went out to 350 manufacturers and sellers Wednesday, notifying them the AG's office is cracking down on the sale of certain modified guns, which will now be treated as "copies and duplicates" of assault weapons as defined (and long banned) under state law.

Overnight, a petition to overturn the new enforcement policy garnered nearly 14,000 signatures.

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The online petition, now closing in on its 15,000-signature goal, called Attorney General Maura Healey's decision "an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment rights of the law-abiding citizens of the states of Massachusetts." It asks Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who has previously expressed disapproval for a federal assault weapons ban, to overturn Healey's policy.

To be clear, assault weapons (as defined by state law) have been banned in Massachusetts since 1998. Healey's decision Wednesday is a new interpretation of the old law, determined after the horrific mass shooting at an Orlando night club last month spurred her office to reexamine existing enforcement policy.

The goal, Healey announced Wednesday, is to close what she calls a "loophole" in that ban, which allows assault weapons with modified bolts and other parts to still be sold in Massachusetts.

• FULL STORY: Mass. AG Cracks Down on Assault Weapons Ban 'Loophole'

But advocates at the Gun Owners' Action League say the wording in Healey's letter to dealers and manufacturers in Massachusetts has introduced confusion by "changing the longstanding definition of so-called 'assault weapons.'"

In a statement on Healey's enforcement notice, GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace cast Healey's decision as an abrupt, politically motivated overstep.

"All Massachusetts residents should be alarmed!" he wrote.

Moreover, he said, Healey's notice "is not very clear."

"Virtually every semi-automatic that utilizes a detachable magazine has the same operating system or firing mechanism, so what does this mean? The short answer is we simply don’t know," he wrote. "Our best advice to firearm retailers for now is to err on the side of caution. These new rules may cover a lot more than just what we might think."

GOAL is working with the state to provide clarity, Wallace said.

The resulting uncertainty provoked a run on at least one Woburn gun store, according to WCVB. The news station reported a line outside Four Seasons gun shop in the wake of Healey's announcement Wednesday.

Gun owners in possession of the now-banned "copycat" weapons are grandfathered in. Gun dealers with those weapons currently in stock are not permitted to sell them to Massachusetts buyers, Healey said Wednesday.

>> Photo via Maura Healey Twitter