Massachusetts Attorney General Just Banned the Sale of All New “Assault Weapons”

But but… no one is coming to take the guns, right?

Via The Truth About Guns:

After the usual “assault rifles” are “weapon of war” used by “mass murderers” anti-AR agitprop, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey dropped this bombshell at The Boston Globe.

The Massachusetts assault weapons ban mirrors the federal ban Congress allowed to expire in 2004. It prohibits the sale of specific weapons like the Colt AR-15 and AK-47 and explicitly bans “copies or duplicates” of those weapons. But gun manufacturers have taken it upon themselves to define what a “copy” or “duplicate” weapon is. They market “state compliant” copycat versions of their assault weapons to Massachusetts buyers. They sell guns without a flash suppressor or folding or telescoping stock, for example, small tweaks that do nothing to limit the lethalness of the weapon.

That will end now. On Wednesday, we are sending a directive to all gun manufacturers and dealers that makes clear that the sale of these copycat assault weapons is illegal in Massachusetts. With this directive, we will ensure we get the full protection intended when lawmakers enacted our assault weapons ban, not the watered-down version of those protections offered by gun manufacturers.

The directive specifically outlines two tests to determine what constitutes a “copy” or “duplicate” of a prohibited weapon. If a gun’s operating system is essentially the same as that of a banned weapon, or if the gun has components that are interchangeable with those of a banned weapon, it’s a “copy” or “duplicate,” and it is illegal. Assault weapons prohibited under our laws cannot be altered in any way to make their sale or possession legal in Massachusetts.

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Going by what I’m reading here, this new “directive” immediately bans the sales of all new AR and AK-style style rifles in The Bay State. I’ve called several Massachusetts gun stores (e.g., Worcester’s Pullman Arms) and yup, they’re pulling all their modern sporting rifles off the shelves. Every. Single. One.

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