Protesters of Massachusetts Assault Weapons Crackdown Take to Beacon Hill

BOSTON, MA—Rumblings of discontent over a crackdown on assault weapons in Massachusetts spilled into a protest in front of the State House Saturday, reportedly hundreds strong.

"We knew this day would come," said Steve Baldassari, one of many protesting this week's enforcement action from Attorney General Maura Healey.

• Mass. AG Cracks Down on Assault Weapons Ban 'Loophole'
• Gun Enthusiasts Up in Arms Over AG's 'Copycat' Assault Weapons Ban

Baldassari, of Quincy, was one of several dozen who stayed behind after the main protest died down, flying flags, waving to passing cars, and engaging in vigorous discussions on the implications of the state AG's abrupt crackdown on "copycat" or otherwise altered assault-style guns.

Wearing mirrored sunglasses with stars-and-stripes on the frames to match the miniature flag in his hand, Baldassari said he was angry, but not surprised. The fight, to him, was not about state laws or one attorney general's interpretation—it was about a constitutional right that's been under attack from the federal government on down.

In Massachusetts, the ban on assault weapons (as defined under state law) has been in place since the late '90s. Healey's team reexamined that law in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting, and determined she should close a "loophole" through which 10,000 modified assault rifles were sold in the last year alone, according to her office.

She sent an enforcement notice to 350 gun dealers in the state Tuesday, apprising them of the change.

"Overnight" was the word repeated bitterly by protesters, including Jacob Stockley, of Pittsfield, who manned the State House steps beside Baldassari, waving a "Don't Tread on Me" flag and wearing a shirt to match.

Previously owned "copycat" versions of semiautomatic rifles such as the AR-15 are grandfathered in under the new law. Dealers with them in stock, as of last Tuesday, must sell them outside the state, according to Healey's enforcement notice.

But people like Stockley, who had hoped to get one of the rifles for his upcoming birthday, are now out of luck. It was "all I wanted," he told Patch.

Opponents see Healey's decision as gross overreach. Signs at Saturday's rally depicted Healey in Hitler mustache and with the word "tyrant" under her picture.

One senator has reportedly filed a bill that would strip Healey's office of the power to make rules or otherwise regulate firearms sales in the state.

In a statement after the protest shared with The Boston Globe, a spokeswoman said Healey "is simply enforcing the existing law." Any claim that the attorney general is taking guns from law-abiding citizens is “inaccurate and misinformed,” she told the paper.

Gov. Charlie Baker, despite a thousands-strong online petition, has said Healey has the authority to send the notice. He later issued a statement calling for clarity and for protection for those who've purchased guns they believe to be legal under state law.

>> Top photo shows Stockley (left) and Steve Baldassari (center). Both photos by Alison Bauter, Patch staff.