Parked in his truck along a rural Idaho highway on his way to elk hunt, Neill Goodfellow pondered a question that will appear on his November ballot: Which of six historic firearms should he choose as the official state weapon?
Goodfellow will vote for the M1 Garand, a semi-automatic rifle widely used by American troops during World War II.
In Massachusetts, voters must decide a very different ballot question: whether or not to uphold a 2024 law requiring all firearms to be serialized and registered with the state and expand the ban on “assault-style” weapons.
Massachusetts and Idaho are approximately 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) apart – literally and figuratively – in The American gun debate. The November elections will not resolve tensions between gun freedoms and restrictionsbut the ballot questions will provide a gauge of public opinion.
If voters approve, Massachusetts Question 9 will continue a series of restrictions on firearms passed overwhelmingly by the Democratic-led legislature in a state with one of the lowest gun ownership rates in the country. The question is addressed to voters because opponents collected petition signatures force a referendum.
In Boise, the Republican-led Legislature placed a non-binding question on the ballot to seek voter input on designation “the state arm of Idaho.” About three in five Idaho adults live in households with guns, which ranks among the highest rates nationally, according to an estimate from the RAND Gun Policy in America initiative. Some Republican lawmakers hope the ballot question will encourage more people to vote.
Massachusetts gun owners face registration deadline
Massachusetts residents face a Wednesday deadline to register their firearms with the state. The referendum on repealing this requirement will take place six days later. This sequence has frustrated some gun owners.
“It’s a complete violation of people’s rights to require this before they have a chance to vote,” said Toby Leary, president of the Civil Rights Coalition, a group formed to lead efforts to repeal the gun law.
Normally, when a referendum petition is submitted, a law is suspended until an election can be held. But Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed an emergency provision making the gun law take effect immediately in 2024, two years before the referendum.
Supporters are touting the measure as the most comprehensive update to the state’s gun laws in a decade. In addition to establishing a national firearms registry, it prohibits “ghost guns” without serial numbers and devices that convert guns to fire quicklyand develops a ban on assault weapons. It also expands a “whistleblower” law to add health care providers and school administrators to the list of those who can ask courts to temporarily remove firearms from people who pose a risk to themselves or others.
“This legislation both preserves a legal path to gun ownership while putting in place safeguards that keep people safe,” said Ruth Zakarin, who chairs the campaign committee supporting the gun law and is CEO of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.
Few states have large-scale gun registries
A 40-year-old federal law prohibits the U.S. government from establishing a national registry of firearms or their owners. But some states have adopted their own requirements.
Massachusetts was the third jurisdiction, behind Hawaii and the District of Columbia, to adopt a comprehensive gun registry. Six additional states require registration of certain firearms, such as handguns or those defined as assault weapons, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
“These laws help law enforcement solve crimes and recover stolen and trafficked guns,” said Lindsay Nichols, the center’s policy director. “They also deter illegal gun sales and help protect law enforcement by providing them with information about weapons that may be present when responding to an incident.” »
But creating a government database of gun owners could also put people at risk if the information was hacked or leaked, Leary said. Thieves with gun owners’ addresses could surveil their homes, waiting until they leave for work or vacation to steal their guns, he said.
“Criminal elements will know exactly who owns what and where they live,” he said. “It’s a wish list for nefarious actors of where they can get weapons.”
A dozen states have official firearms
Utah and Arizona were the first states, in 2011, to adopt official firearms. Utah lawmakers chose the Browning M1911 pistol, designed by a Utah native. Arizona lawmakers chose the Army’s single-action Colt revolver, described by the National Rifle Association as “an iconic firearm of the American West.”
Of the six options presented to Idaho voters, “none of them really have a significant place in Idaho history,” said Goodfellow, a board member of the Idaho State Rifle & Pistol Association. “I suspect a lot of people won’t know which one to choose,” he said.
Still, for some people, the gun vote is a fun topic of debate. That’s essentially the problem, said Idaho House Majority Leader Jason Monks, a Republican who sponsored the measure as a way to increase voter turnout in the midterm elections.
It is intentionally timed to coincide with the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“There’s not much more patriotic about Idaho than guns – and the importance of guns in the founding of our country and the settlement of the West,” Monks said.
If the election results in a clear winner, Idaho lawmakers will likely pass a bill during their 2027 session to make the preferred firearm official. If the results are split evenly, it could be too controversial for lawmakers to decide, Monks said.
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