MA Town Considering Gun Ban Through Zoning Change

SUDBURY, MA — You can't buy either a gun or ammunition anywhere in Sudbury, and one town resident wants to make sure it stays that way.

An article brought through petition by resident Frank Riepe for consideration at spring Town Meeting would effectively ban the sale and manufacturing of guns and ammunition by changing the zoning code.

In his petition, Riepe points to extreme gun violence in the U.S., but also the need to prevent questionable gun dealers from opening in Sudbury. In Littleton, federal officials launched an investigation into a mill home to some 80 gun sellers — the largest concentration of federally licensed gun sellers in the nation — after one dealer was caught selling guns illegally, according to the Boston Globe.

"Reduction in the demand for retail and industrial space in Sudbury means that much space languishes on the lease market, encouraging landlords to lease to tenants with unconventional or questionable business models in order to maintain any rental income at all," the article says.

The article would not prohibit Sudbury residents from owning guns. If approved, the article would add a new section to town zoning code prohibiting "sales, assembly, and/or manufacturing of firearms and/or components thereof, ammunition, and explosives" in any of the town's 10 zoning districts. The zoning change is similar to how Sudbury outlawed adult-use cannabis shops.

Sudbury would not be alone in using zoning to prevent gun sales. Newton's city council in 2021 approved a zoning change outlawing gun sales within 1,000 feet of facilities including schools, churches, parks, daycare centers, nursing homes and libraries, and within 150 of any home. The law leaves just three small areas where gun businesses could theoretically exist.

Although the U.S. as a whole has a high rate of gun deaths — 2021 was a record year with 48,830, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Massachusetts has the lowest gun death rate in the nation. The state has the sixth-toughest gun laws in the U.S., and had a death rate of 3.4 per 100,000 at last check, according to the Giffords Law Center.

"In Sudbury and in the commonwealth of Massachusetts we look out for each other’s health and welfare. If after each senseless act of gun violence that is splashed across the news, we ask, 'Why can’t something be done about this horror?,' the answer is it can, and this town bylaw amendment is part of our answer," Riepe's petition says.

The Sudbury Select Board has not taken a position on the article, but is expected to report on it at Town Meeting. The spring legislative event begins Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.