HOUSE SPEAKER Ronald Mariano sent an email to all House members Monday night dropping his bid to gain quick passage of omnibus gun control legislation and instead pledging to address over the next several months questions and concerns raised by lawmakers. “The House believes that we must thoroughly evaluate all of the proposals made over the summer, and that House members must have the chance to continue to speak with their constituents and provide feedback,” Mariano said in his email, sent out at 8:42 p.m. “House leadership will continue to work on the bill until it is ready for debate this fall.”
The legislation, filed by Rep. Michael Day of Stoneham, is facing opposition from gun owners and procedural challenges from the Senate. The House sought to have Day’s bill referred to the Judiciary Committee, which Day co-chairs, but the Senate insisted on sending it to the Public Safety Committee.
The standoff left the bill in limbo and raised questions about whether the legislation was caught in a crossfire between the House and Senate over joint committee rules and other issues. Mariano in his email did not indicate whether he would defer to the Senate on the appropriate committee to hold hearings on the legislation.
“We remain disappointed that the Senate delayed our intended review of this gun violence legislation by insisting on its referral to the Public Safety Committee, despite the fact that just last year, the Senate insisted that a different late-filed bill proposing changes to our gun laws be referred to Judiciary instead of Public Safety.” Mariano said in his email. “Regardless, you have my word that we will spend the ensuing weeks working with you to address concerns and questions you and your constituents may have about the proposed legislation.”
Mariano’s email followed a couple of private sessions he and Day had with House members last week to discuss the gun legislation, which was prompted by the US Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. That decision, handed down June 23, held that a New York law requiring a license to carry concealed weapons in public places was unconstitutional.
Mariano said in his email that “the Bruen decision fundamentally changed how courts review state gun laws and immediately jeopardized aspects of the laws that have made our Commonwealth a national leader in reducing gun violence.”