Massachusetts voters face Question 9 this midterm on whether to uphold House Bill 4885 from 2024. A yes result would keep a ban on assault-style firearms, impose tighter registration, allow courts to order gun surrender, and let certain school and healthcare workers ask courts to deny ownership.

The Civil Rights Coalition runs the no campaign and says the rules harm privacy and freedom for current owners by treating previously lawful holders as offenders and requiring them to reapply for rights held for decades. A billboard in Western Massachusetts urged a no vote. A Bend, Oregon school shooting killed three children and one teacher, and Massachusetts records among the lowest firearm mortality rates.