Some good news today out of Massachusetts:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Massachusetts lawmakers on Friday tightened the state's already strict gun laws by passing a measure that gives police chiefs authority to turn down a resident's requests to buy a rifle or shotgun if they believe the person may be a danger.
House lawmakers overrode objections from gun-rights advocates in the state Senate who had opposed the measure, worrying that police chiefs could abuse the authority to deny firearms to law-abiding citizens.
"We seek not to be the safest state in the nation but strive to make our communities the safest in the world," said House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a Democrat.
The bill now goes to Governor Deval Patrick, a fellow Democrat, who supports tightening the state's gun laws.
The measure broadens the authority of police, who were already allowed to deny sales of handguns to people who failed background checks. The new measure gives a police chief 90 days to petition a court to deny a firearms identification card to someone the chief believes to be unfit.
"This is an egregious violation of your Second Amendment rights," gun-rights lobbying group the National Rifle Association said in a statement released shortly before the bill's passage during a legislative session that went past midnight. - Huffington Post, 8/1/14
And what did gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker (R. MA) think about this provision before it was passed? It's hard to say:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/...
The state Democratic Party today criticized Republican Charlie Baker for dismissing the significance of a gun control provision designed to give police chiefs authority to keep rifles and shotguns out of the hands of people they consider dangerous.
In an interview on NECN Tuesday, Baker declined to say whether he supported that provision, which was included in an anti-gun violence bill passed by the House, but was stripped out by the Senate.
The host, Jim Braude, pressed the gubernatorial hopeful: “Should police chiefs have that discretion?”
“I don’t think that matters, Jim,” Baker replied. “The real issue here is: They need to do a bill. And they have an opportunity. And I hope they don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good.”
By not declaring his position on the issue, Baker avoided wading into an emotional fight between gun rights activists and police chiefs, who strongly support the provision, and gun rights advocates, who say the measure infringes on their Second Amendment rights. - Boston Globe, 7/30/14
Not the most surprising response from a Republican running in a deep blue state. But Baker should get his facts straight:
http://bostonherald.com/...
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Charlie Baker wrongly insisted last night that Boston recorded no murders for two straight years during the 1990s.
“I mean we went two years in the city of Boston without a homicide,” Baker said after a candidates’ forum sponsored by the Black Ministerial Alliance in Roxbury.
The Swampscott Republican was discussing a Herald special report showing Boston police have 336 unsolved murders on the books from
between 2004 and last year.
When a Herald reporter
attempted to correct Baker, he brushed it off, saying, “The Boston Miracle. 1996 maybe?”
Boston had 61 murders in 1996. - Boston Herald, 7/31/14
Not sure if that's what's hurting his chances this week but some good news for Team Blue today:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/...
As it does every week, the poll also tracked the governor’s race, where Attorney General Martha Coakley continues to enjoy a gaping lead in the three-way Democratic primary, despite ceding some ground to Treasurer Steve Grossman recently. Coakley garnered 45 percent support among people who intend to participate in the Democratic primary, down from 50 percent from two weeks ago, while Grossman climbed from 16 percent to 20 percent during that time, meaning that Coakley’s lead had fallen by 9 percentage points.
Former federal health care administrator Don Berwick continued to trail, with 5 percent support, essentially unchanged over two weeks.
There was better news for Coakley in the general election matchup. After Charlie Baker, the leading Republican candidate, pulled within 3 points of her two weeks ago, Coakley has since widened her lead, opening up a 42 percent to 32 percent advantage over Baker.
Part of Baker’s retreat is owed to declining popularity with women, among whom he has dropped 5 points over the last month. During the second week in July, Baker appeared to brush off the importance in Massachusetts of a Supreme Court ruling affecting birth control insurance. He came under fire from Democrats and later said he misspoke. Baker advisers have acknowledged the statement gave an opening to Democrats looking to position him as unsympathetic to women.
Baker still leads Grossman, 34 percent to 29 percent, in a head-to-head matchup, and Berwick, 37 percent to 24 percent, but his advantage over both has declined over the past two weeks.
“That general trend that’s been in favor of Democrats the last couple of weeks has cut across regardless of who we’ve matched Baker up against,” Della Volpe said.
Two unenrolled candidates, Jeff McCormick and Evan Falchuk, remain mired in single digits, with McCormick receiving 5 percent in a hypothetical race that includes Baker and Coakley, and Falchuk 2 percent. - Boston Globe, 8/1/14
Once the Democrats get their nominee, the race will really begin.