Massachusetts · November 3, 2026 general election · Statewide ballot measure
Question 9: what your vote means
Firearms Regulation. On every Massachusetts ballot. Official sources checked October 21, 2026.
Question 9 · Referendum on an existing law
Firearms Regulation
Question 9: Referendum on an existing law — Firearms Regulation. Do you approve of a law summarized below, which was approved by the House of Representatives on July 18, 2024 by a vote of 124 to 33, and approved by the Senate on July 18, 2024 by a vote of 35 to 5?
Ballot question as printed in the 2026 Information for Voters, Secretary of the Commonwealth. On the ballot, the Attorney General’s summary (linked below) appears beneath the question.
A YES vote means:
The 2024 firearms law stays in place, including its rules on ghost guns, machine-gun conversion devices, assault-style weapons, licensing, and carrying in certain places.
A NO vote means:
The 2024 firearms law would be repealed.
What it would change
- How this question works: it is a referendum on a law already passed. A YES vote keeps the law; a NO vote repeals it.
- What the law does: requires serial numbers on firearms including unfinished frames, defines devices like bump stocks and Glock switches as machine guns, requires age 21 to own semiautomatic rifles or shotguns, and prohibits carrying firearms in government buildings, polling places, and schools, with exceptions.
- Who is affected: firearm owners, license applicants, dealers, local licensing authorities, and the State Police.
- Fiscal impact (Executive Office of Administration and Finance): the state has invested in carrying out the law; repeal would require resources to suspend or redirect those investments.
Official arguments, summarized
Short neutral summaries of the arguments printed in the official voters’ pamphlet. The committees that wrote them are responsible for their content. Read the full text at the link below.
Argument for
Supporters of the law say it closed gaps on ghost guns and machine-gun conversion devices and added tools to prevent suicides and mass shootings.
Written by: Ned Notis-McConarty, Vote Yes for a Safe Massachusetts · yesforasafema.com
Argument against
Opponents of the law say the state already had strict gun laws and that this law is costly, confusing, and burdens local police and law-abiding owners.
Written by: Toby Leary, The Civil Rights Coalition
Arguments for and against Question 9, 2026 Information for Voters
Who supports it and who opposes it
These lists come from official campaign filings (registered committees) and public endorsements, each linked to its source. They are not complete, and SaveYourState does not endorse anyone listed. Lists checked October 30, 2026.
Who supports it
- Democratic Socialists For a Fair Massachusetts Massachusetts OCPF: ballot question committee 95550, organized to support Question 9
- Yes for A Safe Massachusetts Massachusetts OCPF: ballot question committee 95525, organized to support Question 9
Who opposes it
- The Civil Rights Coalition Massachusetts OCPF: ballot question committee 95523, organized to oppose Question 9
Official sources
- 2026 Information for Voters: Question 9 (summary, what your vote will do, fiscal consequences, arguments)
- 2026 Information for Voters (PDF), Question 9, p. 22, including the statement of fiscal consequences by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance
- Full text of the existing law (PDF, p. 45)
SaveYourState is independent and nonpartisan, not a government site, and does not take positions on ballot measures. This explainer describes effects only, using the official ballot title, explanatory statement, full text, and fiscal impact statement. If anything here differs from those documents, the official documents control.