A North Andover-based political group is leading the statewide campaign to repeal Massachusetts' 2024 gun law when voters decide Question 9 on Nov. 3.

The Civil Rights Coalition, chaired by Cape Gun Works co-founder Toby Leary, collected more than 75,000 certified signatures to place the veto referendum on the ballot. A "yes" vote upholds the law, known as Chapter 135.

A "no" vote repeals it.

Leary called the law "a deeply flawed, 116-page piece of bureaucratic overreach that wastes valuable tax dollars and burdens local communities" in the official ballot position statement reported by Patch.

The coalition argues the law forces local police departments to enforce vague rules, pulling officers away from violent-crime investigations to handle administrative paperwork. It also mandates a real-time electronic tracking system the state has not funded or built, according to Leary's ballot statement.

Question 9 stands apart from the other eight measures on the November ballot. It is a veto referendum, asking voters to ratify or repeal an existing law rather than enact a new one.

What the law does

Gov. Maura Healey signed Chapter 135 in July 2024 after the House passed it 124-33 and the Senate 35-5, as the New Bedford Light reported. The law bans ghost guns, prohibits people under 21 from owning semiautomatic rifles or shotguns, and expands the state's red flag law. School administrators and licensed health care providers can now petition a court for an Extreme Risk Protection Order.

The law also requires gun dealers to confiscate expired or suspended licenses and keep transaction records police can access at any time. Failing to report a lost or stolen gun carries a potential jail sentence.

After the coalition gathered enough signatures to try to suspend the law, Healey signed an emergency preamble in October 2024 that blocked the suspension, according to the Boston Globe.

Both sides make their case

Leary, who describes the coalition as a bipartisan ballot committee, told the Boston Globe in June that a win in Massachusetts could draw national attention and embolden voters in other states to challenge their legislatures.

Supporters of the law counter that Massachusetts has a gun death rate 70 percent lower than the national average. Ned Notis-McConarty of Yes for a Safe Massachusetts said in the ballot position statement that the law's provisions "are already helping keep our communities safe."

Healey was scheduled to join Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden and Boston Teachers Union President Erik Berg for a "Yes on 9 For a Safe Massachusetts" rally at the Boston Teachers Union Hall in Dorchester on Sunday, Sept. 20.

Money and momentum

Campaign finance records show the Civil Rights Coalition had raised $280,506 as of Jan. 1. The largest donors were firearm manufacturer Smith & Wesson and the Gun Owners' Action League. Leary told the Globe in June that the campaign had not received support from national groups such as the NRA or Gun Owners of America.

The coalition's internal polling from February found voters largely split: 34 percent said they would uphold the law and 28 percent would repeal it.

The coalition held its biggest fundraiser of the year, the "Lawyers, Guns & Money" auction, in Hudson on Friday, Sept. 18. Polls open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and close at 8 p.m., according to MassLive.