2018 MA Governor's race: on Gun Control

Jay Gonzalez: Ban assault weapons and gun silencers

Stopping Gun Violence Before It Starts
• Address the root causes of violence by investing in programs that provide stability in people's lives.
• Support community policing efforts aimed at building strong neighborhood ties and engaging high-risk youth
• Expand summer job programs for at-risk youth.
• Partner with cities and towns to target gun violence hot spots, and revitalize high-crime neighborhoods

Reducing Access to Guns and Increasing Enforcement
• Advocate for the reinstatement of the federal assault weapons ban.
• Support Attorney General Healey's enforcement of the state assault weapons ban, including "copycat" assault weapons.
• Support innovative and proven programs to get guns off the streets, such as buy backs.
• Oppose legislation that would legalize gun silencers.
• Promote development and advancement in "smart gun" technologies that restrict access to only a gun's legal owner.

Setti Warren: Join 18 mayors in banning assault weapons

In the wake of incidents of violence against civilians and law enforcement in cities across the country, our positions demand that we speak out. We have called again and again for national solutions to gun violence, to increase mental health funding, and to end the sale of military-style weapons to civilians, because our cities are not war zones. But we are as frustrated with inaction and empty words.

For this reason, we have come together to express our strong support for Attorney General Maura Healey's recently announced effort to enforce the state's ban on the sale of assault weapons. Many more people, including gun owners, believe that sensible limits make our streets, our schools, our parks, and our workplaces that much safer.