An overhaul of Massachusetts’ gun laws was signed by Gov. Deval Patrick who said the measure will help curb gun violence, protect families and build safer communities. The state already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
The new law stiffens penalties for some gun-based crimes, creates a Web-based portal within the state Executive Office of Public Safety to allow for real-time background checks in private gun sales and calls for the creation of a firearms trafficking unit within the state police, according to The Associated Press.
It also gives local police chiefs the right to go to court to try to deny firearms identification cards needed to buy rifles or shotguns to people they feel are unsuitable to have access to the weapons.
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Police chiefs currently have the right to deny ‘‘licenses to carry’’ to individuals they feel are unsuitable to carry handguns. The new law retains that authority, but would require police chiefs to give written reasons for any applications they choose to deny. Their decisions would have to be based on public safety and could be appealed in court.
Patrick signed the bill at a ceremony at the Statehouse on Wednesday.
‘‘Our communities and our families are safer when irresponsible gun sales and use are reduced,’’ he said.
Another part of the law mandates Massachusetts join the National Instant Background Check System, which requires the state to transmit information about substance abuse or mental health commitments to a federal database that police can use to review firearms applications.
Patrick has praised the measure, despite the fact that lawmakers failed to include his proposal that would have limited individuals to the purchase of no more than one gun per month.
The new law also increases the penalty for carrying a firearm on school grounds; increases the punishment for being armed with a firearm while carjacking; creates penalties for transporting firearms into the state for criminal activity or unlawful distribution; establishes penalties for gun dealers who fail to report a lost or stolen weapon and mandates that an individual whose license to carry firearms has been revoked, suspended or denied must surrender all guns in their possession.
Work on the bill began last year after the 2012 mass school shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Other portions of the legislation are designed to improve security for students and teachers.
The new law requires schools have access to two-way communication devices with police and fire departments and mandates school districts provide two hours of suicide awareness and prevention training to school personnel every three years.
The law takes effect immediately.
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