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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2143 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2312
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Marjorie C. Decker
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to ghost guns.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Marjorie C. Decker25th Middlesex1/11/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/19/2023Kate Lipper-Garabedian32nd Middlesex3/2/2023Brandy Fluker Oakley12th Suffolk3/10/2023 1 of 4
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2143 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2312
By Representative Decker of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2312) of
Marjorie C. Decker and others relative to prohibiting ghost guns, so-called, that allow gun pieces
to be legally purchased or made to create firearms that lack serial numbers. Public Safety and
Homeland Security.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 2439 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act relative to ghost guns.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Chapter 269 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby
2amended by inserting after section 11E the following section:-
3 Section 11F. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the
4following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
5 "Assembly" means the fitting together of the component parts of a firearm to construct a
6firearm; but shall not apply to restoration of antique firearms, nor the replacement of existing
7parts of a completed firearm.
8 “Department” means the department of criminal justice information services. 2 of 4
9 "Firearm" means a firearm as defined in section 121 of chapter 140, and shall include any
10sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, rifle or shotgun as defined therein, whether loaded or unloaded
11from which a shot may be discharged, and any unfinished frame or lower receiver as herein
12defined.
13 "Frame or lower receiver" means the part of a firearm that provides the action or housing
14for the hammer, bolt or breechblock and firing mechanism, and includes a frame or lower
15receiver blank, casting or machined body that requires further machining or molding to be used
16as part of a functional firearm, and which is designed and intended to be used in the assembly of
17a functional firearm.
18 “Licensing authority” shall have the same definition as provided in section 121 of chapter
19140.
20 "Manufacture" means to newly fabricate or construct a firearm.
21 "Person" means a human being, and, where appropriate, a public or private corporation, a
22limited liability company, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a government or a
23governmental instrumentality, but shall not include a licensed firearm manufacturer or dealer.
24 "Possess" means to have physical possession or otherwise to exercise dominion or control
25over tangible property.
26 (b) No person shall complete the manufacture or assembly of a firearm without: (1)
27obtaining a unique serial number or other mark of identification from the department of criminal
28justice information services pursuant to subsection (i); and (2) engraving upon or permanently
29affixing to the firearm such serial number or other mark in a manner that conforms with the 3 of 4
30requirements imposed on licensed importers and licensed manufacturers of firearms pursuant to
3118 U.S.C. section 923(i), as amended from time to time, and any regulation adopted thereunder.
32 (c) No person shall complete the manufacture or assembly of any firearm from polymer
33plastic, unless such plastic is embedded with at least 3.7 ounces of material type 17-4 PH
34stainless steel and such firearm is engraved or otherwise marked with a unique serial number or
35other mark of identification obtained by said person from the department pursuant to subsection
36(i).
37 (d) Not later than 30 days after a person completes manufacturing or assembling a
38firearm pursuant to this section, such person shall notify the department and provide any
39identifying information to said department concerning the firearm and the owner of such firearm,
40in a manner provided by the commissioner of criminal justice information services .
41 (e) No person shall transfer to another person any firearm manufactured or assembled in
42accordance with this section, except as provided in clause (2) of subsection (f).
43 (f) This section shall not apply to: (1) manufacture or assembly of firearms by a federally
44licensed firearm manufacturer; or (2) delivery or transfer of a firearm to a law enforcement
45agency. Any firearm delivered or transferred to a law enforcement agency pursuant to this
46subsection shall be destroyed by the law enforcement agency.
47 (g) No person shall knowingly facilitate, aid or abet the manufacture or assembly of a
48firearm pursuant to this section by a person or for a person who is otherwise prohibited by law
49from owning or possessing a firearm. 4 of 4
50 (h) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a felony and
51punished by not less than 2 years imprisonment in the state prison, and a fine of not less than
52$5,000, unless the court states on the record its reasons for remitting or reducing such fine; and
53any firearm found in the possession of any such person in violation shall be forfeited.
54 (i) The department of criminal justice information services shall develop and maintain a
55system to distribute a unique serial number or other mark of identification to any individual
56requesting such serial number or mark pursuant to this section, in accordance with applicable
57federal law and regulations. Upon an application made by a person for a serial number or mark
58for a firearm pursuant to this section, which shall include any information required by the
59department, the department shall confirm with the appropriate licensing authority that the
60applicant is authorized to possess such firearm and possesses a valid license or firearm
61identification card as required under chapter 140. Upon issuance of a serial number or mark, the
62department shall maintain identifying information of the person requesting the number or mark
63and of the firearm for which each such number or mark is requested.
64 (j) The department of criminal justice information services shall promulgate regulations
65to carry out this section.