GOVERNOR PATRICK’S proposed new gun law isn’t a panacea for urban violence. But the measure, backed by Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley, would give law enforcement officials one more tool in reducing the availability of handguns in urban neighborhoods.
The bill aims to stem the flow of illegal weapons by preventing the bulk purchasing of guns by a single buyer. It would limit individuals to purchasing one gun a month. As such, it isn’t nearly as sweeping as the overall handgun bans in Washington, DC, and Chicago that were the subjects of recent Supreme Court decisions — including one announced yesterday — and Patrick’s bill appears to pass constitutional muster.
Under current Massachusetts law, purchasers can legally buy as many firearms as they want. Some buyers then turn around and sell the guns to convicted felons. Of all the firearms recovered from crime scenes in this state last year and traced to their source, about 36 percent had been legally purchased in Massachusetts, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Yes, there’s some merit to the truism that committed criminals will always find a way to obtain guns. But this bill could keep weapons from some less committed criminals — including the young gang members responsible for the recent uptick in violence. The Legislature began moving more quickly on the bill after a State House rally in which activists expressed outrage over the shooting deaths of two Boston 14-year-olds, Jaewon Martin and Nicholas Fomby-Davis. Purchasers seeking weapons for self-defense and other legal purposes can easily accommodate themselves to one per month.
Meanwhile, the bill also would allow judges to hold without bail on dangerousness grounds defendants who have been charged with illegal weapons possession.
The district attorney in Bristol County, Sam Sutter, had often sought such detention in cases of domestic abuse or sexual assault. But the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled last year that the Legislature would have to specifically authorize illegal weapons possession as grounds for a dangerousness finding.
Law enforcement officials also like the fact that the bill improves their access to criminal records when conducting background checks on people purchasing firearms.
Earlier this month Patrick called for passage of the bill “so that we can report back to our communities and neighbors that we are doing everything we possibly can to stop the violence.’’ The measure is a small step toward safer neighborhoods, but an important one.
