Question 9 Runs Backward, and It Has a Second Hurdle: Repealing the 2024 Gun Law Takes a Majority of No Votes That Also Equals 30% of Every Ballot Cast

Question 9 is the only measure on Tuesday's statewide ballot that asks voters about a law already in effect, and it is the only one where a yes vote preserves the status quo.

The question is a referendum on the firearms law the Legislature approved on July 18, 2024. The ballot text notes that the House passed it 124 to 33 and the Senate 35 to 5 that day. According to the official summary, "A YES VOTE would keep in place the law, which increases the regulation of firearms, including ghost guns, machine guns, and assault-style weapons. A NO VOTE would repeal this law."

A no vote must clear two bars to repeal the law. Under the referendum provisions of the Massachusetts Constitution, as described in the Secretary of the Commonwealth's guide to statewide ballot questions, a law subject to a referendum is repealed only if a majority of those voting on the question vote no and the number of no votes equals at least 30 percent of all ballots cast in the election.

Because some voters skip questions, the second bar is measured against total ballots, not just votes on Question 9. If turnout were 3.5 million, for example, repeal would require at least 1.05 million no votes in addition to a no majority. If both conditions are met, repeal would take effect 30 days after the election, around Dec. 3, according to a Mass Legal Resources explainer.

The official summary lists the law's main provisions. It adds school administrators and licensed health care providers to those who may ask a court for an Extreme Risk Protection Order, which requires a person found to be a present danger to self or others to surrender firearms, licenses and permits. It also lets a court ordering a harassment prevention order require the surrender of firearms.

It imposes penalties for possessing, creating and transferring untraceable "ghost guns" and requires all firearms except antiques and relics, including unfinished frames and receivers that can be readily completed, to carry serial numbers. Privately made guns, including 3D-printed guns, are covered.

On licensing, the law lets local licensing authorities request prior license and permit information from the state and see petitions for involuntary mental health commitments that a court denied, in addition to prior commitments. It requires a person to be 21 to own semiautomatic rifles or shotguns, adds possible jail time of up to six months for a second failure to report a lost or stolen gun, and lets 12- to 15-year-olds apply for a self-defense spray permit with parental permission.

The law expands the definition of "machine gun" to include bump stocks, trigger cranks, Glock switches and auto sears, and broadens the definition of "silencer" to include the parts used to build one. It clarifies how to determine whether a firearm is an assault-style weapon and when people may keep assault-style weapons and large-capacity feeding devices they already own.

It prohibits carrying firearms in government buildings, polling locations and schools, with certain exceptions; requires State Police training and a test for new applicants for a license to carry or a firearm ID card; creates a public dashboard of anonymized firearm data; establishes two legislative commissions; and makes it a crime to discharge a firearm and strike a building in use, according to the summary.

The referendum petition was brought by opponents of the law, who argue it burdens lawful gun owners. Supporters, who are campaigning for a yes vote, argue the law's provisions on ghost guns, extreme risk orders and machine-gun conversion devices make the state safer.

A MassINC Polling Group survey for CommonWealth Beacon, conducted Sept. 14 to 22 among 800 likely voters, found Republican voters split with their party on the gun law, according to CommonWealth Beacon's analysis of the results. WBUR's report on the same poll was headlined in part around the gun law and all-party primaries. Polls are snapshots taken weeks before Election Day, not results.

The ballot's design creates room for confusion. A voter who opposes the gun law must vote no; a voter who supports it must vote yes. On most of the other eight questions, yes means change.

The 30 percent rule also means a narrow no majority in a high-turnout election could fall short. Early turnout suggests a large electorate: the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office reported 1,070,364 ballots already cast as of Oct. 30, or 20.5 percent of registered voters, before Election Day voting began.

If the law is upheld, it stays in force as it has since 2024. If it is repealed, the provisions of the 2024 law would be removed, and the prior statutes would govern until the Legislature acted again. The ballot text does not address what would replace it.

Information on all nine questions, including arguments for and against submitted by each side, is in the state's 2026 Information for Voters booklet. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.