The Massachusetts Model on Gun Violence Prevention

But one of the Bay State’s proudest accomplishments is its status as a nationwide gold standard for the lowest gun death rate. 

Thanks to smart policy and the hard work of legislators, CVI workers, law enforcement, advocates, gun owners, and survivors dedicated to eradicating gun violence, Massachusetts was awarded its very first A in GIFFORDS’s Annual Gun Law Scorecard in 2024 and has become a blueprint for gun safety that other states can—and should—look to for inspiration. 

But it wasn’t always like this. Massachusetts struggled with waves of gun violence for decades, specifically in the 1980s and 1990s. Between 1987 to 1990, the city of Boston saw its homicide rate double, jumping to its highest recorded peak in history. In 1990 alone, there were more than 150 homicides in the city. The crisis had reached a boiling point, and prompted local leaders to take action.

As time passes, so do the technologies and systems around guns and gun violence. To address new concerns and close loopholes in existing laws, the state coalition working to prevent gun violence came together with lawmakers to create and pass a comprehensive gun safety bill in 2014. This new law tightened regulations on gun dealers, required Massachusetts to submit more data to the national background checks system, and much more.

It’s worth noting that these measures and investments were passed with strong bipartisan support—something that some might see as inconceivable today. The original passage of the state’s Gun Control Act won the approval of Massachusetts’s Republican governor, Paul Cellucci, and has been supported by each of the five governors the commonwealth has had since it passed (two Democrats, three Republicans). The 2014 bill also secured bipartisan support in the state legislature. Massachusetts has proven time and again that addressing gun violence is a priority, no matter which party is in power.

Since the efforts of the late 1990s, Massachusetts has consistently ranked high for gun safety. But this year, GIFFORDS was proud to award Massachusetts with its first ever A grade in its Annual Gun Law Scorecard—joining the ranks of other A states, including California, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Now ranked fifth in the nation for gun law strength, the Bay State has reaffirmed its status as a national leader in gun violence prevention.

Massachusetts improved upon its decade-long A- grade on the Scorecard largely thanks to the passage of a comprehensive gun safety law expansion in H.4885, also known as “an Act modernizing firearm laws.” This law represents the Massachusetts legislature’s commitment to protecting its citizens from gun violence and prioritizing safety above the gun lobby’s profits. It included a number of critical new policies, such as a prohibition of guns at polling places, a ban on rapid-fire conversion devices, a ban on ghost guns, and strengthening dealer inspections. Additionally, in 2024, the Bay State invested $48 million in community violence intervention programs. 

These changes, and the foundational work done in the decades prior, leave Massachusetts in an admirable spot. The most recent data available shows the commonwealth experiences an average 3.7 gun deaths per 100,000 people—the lowest in the nation and 73% lower than the national average. In comparison, Mississippi experiences the highest gun death rate in the nation with 29.4 gun deaths per 100,000 people. Additionally, Boston, the state’s capital and largest city, just saw its homicide rate plummet to its lowest in nearly 70 years.

Even though Massachusetts has achieved an A, we know there is more work to do in this space. Lives continue to be lost, and vulnerable communities are still dealing with the disproportionate impact of gun violence. Gun violence across the state is not spread out evenly; large disparities between predominantly white and Black communities underlie the top-of-the-line, promising statistics. While Massachusetts boasts low gun deaths per capita, it also possesses one of the starkest racial gaps in gun death rates for white and non-white residents.

Furthermore, voters will have the opportunity to reject the gun lobby’s radical agenda in 2026. The gun lobby has put a referendum on H.4885 on next year’s November ballot which, if passed, would completely repeal the commonsense gun safety reforms that advocates, gun owners, and survivors fought so hard for and reopen loopholes in the state’s gun laws that would put public safety at risk. This is a major opportunity for voters to reaffirm Massachusetts’s ironclad commitment to public health and its placement as a leader in gun safety. 

Ultimately, though, Massachusetts should serve as a model for the rest of the nation on how to properly create a safe environment that serves people over the gun lobby without infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners who know commonsense gun safety laws are necessary. States who consistently score Fs and have high gun death rates can look to Massachusetts policies as a starting point, including passing extreme risk protection order laws, secure gun storage laws, and community violence intervention funding.

With Massachusetts in mind, the United States can build a country free from the threat of gun violence.