Press Release  Attorney General Campbell Joins Briefs in Defense of Laws Promoting Gun Safety

BOSTON — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined two coalitions of Attorneys General last week in filing amicus briefs defending gun violence prevention measures.

"Massachusetts has shown the nation over and over again that common sense gun laws keep young people, families and communities safer,” said AG Campbell. “We are calling on the courts to uphold laws that protect all of us, especially our children, from gun violence and unsafe handguns.”

In a brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th Circuit, AG Campbell joined a group of 21 Attorneys General supporting the federal government’s prohibition on the sale of handguns and handgun ammunition by federally-licensed retailers to individuals under the age of 21. In the filing, the coalition explained that the Second Amendment allows governments to enact sensible and varied regulations to protect the public, including age-based restrictions on the purchase, possession or use of firearms. Although regulations vary based on each state’s needs, virtually every state has imposed some form of age-based regulations on firearms, and at least 19 states and the District of Columbia, including Massachusetts, have imposed regulations mirroring the federal minimum age requirement of 21 to purchase handguns.

In the second case, AG Campbell joined 14 Attorneys General in a brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9^th Circuit in defense of California’s Unsafe Handgun Act, which requires new models of semiautomatic pistols to have additional features linked to safety and traceability. The coalition argues that California’s rules protect consumers from unsafe products and improve the ability of law enforcement to investigate and solve handgun-related crimes.

Attorney General Campbell has pledged the creation of a Gun Violence Prevention Unit to defend Massachusetts’ common sense gun laws and make communities throughout the state safer for everyone; her office is actively working to establish this Unit.

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