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A Fast And Furious Assault On Private Gun Sales

Action: Please call your legislators and urge them to sign onto House Minority Leader George Peterson's Bill, "An Act To Repeal The Ban On Modern Sporting Arms". 

 

Below is GOAL's letter to MA Legislators to educate them about this bill.

August 3, 2011

RE: Bill to Repeal Ban on Modern Sporting Arms

Dear Legislator,

Since the passage of the ill-conceived 1998 Gun Control Act, the citizens of Massachusetts have been forced to live with its disastrous results. Many of you have received countless complaints and calls for help from law abiding constituents in regards to these laws. Once again, lawful citizens are being threatened needlessly by outdated confusing laws.

In May of 2011 an unsigned and undated "Advisory Letter" was sent out by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPS) regarding certain arms and feeding devices. Virtually everything in the letter was factually incorrect and has caused very serious legal concerns among firearm retailers and licensed citizens including law enforcement officers.

The letter states "G.L. c. 140 Section 131, prohibits the possession of assault weapons and large capacity feeding devices by individuals in the Commonwealth." This statement is factually incorrect. As most gun owners are well aware, licensed individuals can legally possess and transfer these items if they were lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994. The letter then contradicts itself by stating that this exemption is only valid if they were possessed "under a Massachusetts license." No such requirement exists in Massachusetts law or regulation!

In the same letter EOPS then attacks law enforcement officers by stating that the exemption for purposes of law enforcement does not allow police officers to possess these items for their own personal use, or for both on-duty and off-duty use. GOAL is not aware of any such regulations or court rulings restricting this exemption, but because of the advisory letter from EOPS, law enforcement officers are concerned they may face up to ten years in prison for potential violation of the law.

For more information on this, please see our EOPS/FFL Letter Info page here

Jim Wallace of Gun Owners Action League will be the main speaker at the Lenox Sportsmen's Club on THURSDAY August 18 at 6:30 p.m. www.lenoxsportsmensclub.com for directions    

Jim will be talking about the latest issues affecting sportsmen, gun owners and law enforcement.  Dinner is a Pasta & Polenta Dinner $15.00 per ticket and 100% of the net proceeds will go to GOAL

For tickets please contact Tom Ferguson 413-443-3225 or jfergus1@nycap.rr.com 

We hope to see you there!

Once again we are in need of some volunteer help at the GOAL office, 37 Pierce St, Northboro.  This work would entail helping Tara prepare the monthly mailing, please e-mail Tara at the GOAL office if you have some time to spare M-F 9 am - 5 pm during the next few weeks.

Also: The world famous Topsfield Fair is just around the corner.  As always GOAL will have a booth courtesy of the Essex County League of Sportsmen.  This year the fair will be held from 9/30/11 - 10/10/11, open 10 am - 11 pm. 

GOAL usually sets up 4 hour shifts for volunteers.  If you can help us, please call Angi at the GOAL office, 508-393-5333 x206.

TWO SPECIAL ELECTIONS for House Seats are now scheduled!

The open seats are:

• 3rd Berkshire (no candidates yet) primary election 9/20/11, general election 10/18/11 
• 12th Bristol (one candidate) primary election 8/23/11, general election 9/20/11

If you live in one of these precincts please pay attention to this page, GOAL will update it with candidate information as they file, and hopefully fill out our questionnaire as to where they stand on the Second Amendment. 

Please ensure that your voice is heard and that OUR RIGHTS are protected on election day!

• September 11, 2011 GOAL Club Rep Seminar at Marlborough Royal Plaza - Best Western - Details Soon! 
• September 18, 2011Crushing Clays Jr Trap Championship  
• September 25, 2011 GOAL 'Shoot-B-Q' Firearms, Food, and Fun!  

GOAL Affiliated Club Events

If your club is officially affiliated with Gun Owners' Action League and is running an event of some sort, here is where you can advertise it. Please email me the information (who, what, when, where, how much) or a link to your  web page.

For a full listing of shooting competitions go to www.goalshooters.org.  
More events here

Are you planning a wedding, birthday, or other special event? Check out our listing of Affiliated Club Function Halls