Massachusetts, Idaho Voters Face Opposing Gun Measures
WHO:
Boston.com News - The Democratic-led Massachusetts Legislature passed the state’s gun restrictions.
ABC News - Idaho hunter Neill Goodfellow, a board member of the Idaho State Rifle & Pistol Association, said he would vote for the M1 Garand and that none of the six choices had a significant place in Idaho history.
ABC News - Toby Leary, chair of The Civil Rights Coalition, which led the effort to repeal the Massachusetts gun law, said, “It’s a total violation of people’s rights to require this before they have their chance to vote on it.”
ABC News - Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an emergency provision that put the gun law into effect immediately.
ABC News - Ruth Zakarin, CEO of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence and chair of the campaign committee backing the law, said it preserves a legal path to gun ownership while adding safety measures.
ABC News - Lindsay Nichols, policy director of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said firearm registries help law enforcement solve crimes and track stolen and trafficked guns.
ABC News - Idaho House Majority Leader Jason Monks, a Republican and sponsor of the state-gun ballot measure, said it was intended to increase voter turnout.
WHAT:
Boston.com News - Massachusetts Question 9 asks voters whether to uphold restrictions passed by the state Legislature.
ABC News - Massachusetts voters are deciding whether to uphold a 2024 law requiring firearms to be serialized and registered with the state and broadening the ban on “assault-style” guns.
ABC News - The Massachusetts law establishes a firearm registry, bans unserialized “ghost guns” and devices that enable rapid fire, expands restrictions on assault-style weapons, and broadens the red-flag law to let healthcare providers and school administrators seek temporary court-ordered firearm removal from people considered a risk to themselves or others.
ABC News - Idaho voters face a nonbinding ballot question asking which of six historic firearms should be designated the state gun; the M1 Garand is a semiautomatic rifle carried widely by U.S. troops in World War II.
ABC News - About three in five Idaho adults live in households with guns, among the highest rates nationally, according to RAND Gun Policy in America.
ABC News - Massachusetts has one of the nation’s lowest gun-ownership rates. The state became the third jurisdiction, after Hawaii and the District of Columbia, to adopt a comprehensive firearm registry. Six other states require registration of certain firearms, according to the Giffords Law Center.
ABC News - A federal law prohibits the U.S. government from establishing a national firearm or gun-owner registry.
WHERE:
ABC News - The ballot measures concern Massachusetts and Idaho, which are about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) apart. Goodfellow considered Idaho’s question while parked in his truck on a rural highway on the way to an elk hunt.
ABC News - The Idaho measure was placed on the ballot by the Republican-led Legislature in Boise.
WHEN:
ABC News - Massachusetts’ firearm registration deadline falls on a Wednesday; the referendum on repealing the requirement takes place six days later.
ABC News - The Massachusetts law took effect two years before the referendum.
ABC News - Idaho lawmakers may consider legislation to designate the preferred state firearm during their 2027 session if the ballot produces a clear winner.
WHY:
ABC News - Massachusetts opponents gathered petition signatures to force a referendum; some gun owners objected to having to register firearms before voting on the requirement.
ABC News - Leary warned that leaked registry information could expose gun owners’ addresses to thieves; he said, “The criminal element will know exactly who has what, where they live.”
ABC News - Monks said Idaho’s ballot question was timed to coincide with the nation’s 250th anniversary. He called guns and their role in founding the country and settling the West patriotic subjects for Idaho.
HOW:
ABC News - Healey’s emergency provision made the Massachusetts law effective immediately, rather than holding it until the referendum.
ABC News - If Idaho’s results are evenly split, Monks said the choice might be too controversial for lawmakers to resolve.
(UPDATED October 25, 2026 22:03 UTC)
Massachusetts voters are deciding whether to uphold a sweeping gun law, while Idaho voters are choosing among six historic firearms for a nonbinding state-gun designation. The Massachusetts law requires firearms to be serialized and registered, bans ghost guns and rapid-fire devices, expands restrictions on assault-style weapons, and broadens who can seek temporary firearm removal from people considered dangerous. Gov. Maura Healey made the law effective immediately, before the referendum. Opponents say requiring registration before voters weigh in violates gun owners’ rights and risks exposing their addresses; supporters say the law preserves a path to legal ownership while adding safety measures. Idaho’s question was placed on the ballot by Republican lawmakers to encourage turnout and highlight the nation’s founding and western history. Hunter Neill Goodfellow favors the M1 Garand, but says none of the choices is especially tied to Idaho.