Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H2592 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3243 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2592
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Marjorie C. Decker
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act authorizing the voluntary disavowal of eligibility to purchase a firearm.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Marjorie C. Decker25th Middlesex1/16/2025 1 of 4
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3243 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2592
18	18	By Representative Decker of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2592) of
19	19	Marjorie C. Decker that the commissioner of Criminal Justice Services be authorized to establish
20	20	a list of persons who disavow eligibility to purchase firearms. Public Safety and Homeland
21	21	Security.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act authorizing the voluntary disavowal of eligibility to purchase a firearm.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Section 167A of chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
31	31	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-
32	32	3 (j) The commissioner, in consultation with the executive office of public safety, the
33	33	4attorney general and the colonel of the state police, shall establish a list of persons who disavow
34	34	5eligibility to purchase a firearm, rifle, shotgun or machine gun, hereinafter referred to as a
35	35	6firearm. A person may request such person’s name to be placed on the list of disavowal of
36	36	7eligibility by filing a form with the commissioner acknowledging the person has a psychiatric
37	37	8disability and is a danger to themselves and by agreeing that the person shall not purchase a
38	38	9firearm.
39	39	10 The department shall develop a standard form, accessible on the department’s webpage,
40	40	11providing for a voluntary disavowal of eligibility to purchase a firearm. The department may 2 of 4
41	41	12revoke, limit, condition, suspend or fine any licensee, as provided for in section 122 of chapter
42	42	13140, eligibility to sell, rent or lease firearms, if the licensee sells a firearm to any person on such
43	43	14list or provides unauthorized access to any name on such list. The list shall be shared with a
44	44	15licensee by the department.
45	45	16 The department shall distribute the form to acute-care hospitals and satellite emergency
46	46	17facilities as defined in section 244 of chapter 111.
47	47	18 The department shall adopt regulations for the maintenance and distribution of the list of
48	48	19persons who disavow eligibility. The list shall not be a public record and shall not be open to
49	49	20public inspection.
50	50	21 SECTION 2. Chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition,
51	51	22is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
52	52	23 Section 244. A person voluntarily presenting in an acute-care hospital or a satellite
53	53	24emergency facility who is reasonably believed by the treating clinician to be suffering from a
54	54	25diagnosis of depression, using standardized definition of such diagnosis as set forth in the
55	55	26Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as published by the American Psychiatric
56	56	27Association, shall be presented with the form provided for in section 167A of chapter 6. For the
57	57	28purposes of this section the term “acute-care hospital”, means any hospital licensed under section
58	58	2951 that contains a majority of medical-surgical, pediatric, obstetric, and maternity beds, as
59	59	30defined by the department and the teaching hospital of the University of Massachusetts Medical
60	60	31School and the term “satellite emergency facility”, means a health care facility that operates on a
61	61	327-day per week, 24-hour per day basis that is located off the premises of a hospital, but is listed 3 of 4
62	62	33on the license of a hospital, and is authorized to accept patients transported to the facility by
63	63	34ambulance.
64	64	35 SECTION 3. Subsection (b) of section 36C of Chapter 123 of the General Laws, as
65	65	36appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding, after the final sentence, the
66	66	37following sentence:-
67	67	38 In addition to the relief provided for in this subsection, the court may grant relief, upon
68	68	39petition, that the person’s name be removed from the list of persons who disavow eligibility to
69	69	40purchase a firearm provided in section 167A of chapter 6.
70	70	41 SECTION 4. Clause (ix) of subsection (d) of section 131 of chapter 140 of the General
71	71	42Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 258,
72	72	43the word “or”.
73	73	44 SECTION 5. Clause (x) of subsection (d) of section 131 of chapter 140 of the General
74	74	45Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 260,
75	75	46“.” and inserting in place thereof the following:- ;or.
76	76	47 SECTION 6. Subsection (d) of section 131 of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as
77	77	48appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended after clause (x) by adding the
78	78	49following clause:-
79	79	50 (y) a person who has voluntarily disavowed eligibility to purchase a firearm as listed on
80	80	51the list kept by the department of criminal justice information service pursuant to section 167A
81	81	52of chapter 6. 4 of 4
82	82	53 SECTION 7. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, any suicide
83	83	54hotline maintained or operated by any entity funded in whole or part by the commonwealth shall
84	84	55refer callers to the form provided for in section 1 of this act.