The state of Massachusetts hasn’t been lacking in the gun control department for quite some time. In fact, its reputation as an anti-gun jurisdiction was so significant that only recently has it been eclipsed by states like New York and New Jersey.

In the wake of the Bruen decision, though, a lot of anti-gun states felt they had to take a step back and figure out some way to balance gun control with the letter of the decision, if not the spirit.

It seems now Massachusetts is taking its turn.

A raft of new gun laws introduced to the Massachusetts Legislature on Monday in response to last year’s Supreme Court decision overturning some of the state’s strictest firearms licensing laws was met with swift condemnation by rights advocates.

A year after the high court decided in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen that most extraordinary licensing requirements were at odds with the Second Amendment, Judiciary Committee Co-chair Rep. Michael Day filed H.4420, or An Act modernizing firearms laws to the House, a more than 100-page bill which would ban the carrying of firearms in most public places without express permission and aims to fight the rise of so-called ghost guns.

…

The law, according to a release from Day’s office, would establish an “enhanced tracing system” to track guns used during the commission of a crime, “modernize” the firearms registrations system and make firearms data available to academics and policymakers.

The bill would also create “specific crimes that will prohibit discharging firearms at or near dwellings and carrying firearms while intoxicated” and “standardizes training requirements for individuals seeking a license to carry and will now require live firearm training.”

“One of the most important duties we have as lawmakers is to ensure the health and safety of our residents, and neither a rogue Supreme Court nor increasingly sophisticated criminal activity will stop this Legislature from meeting those duties,” Day said in a statement Monday.

Those are just a few of the lowlights in the bill, none of which will stop literally any of those crimes from happening.

Their “enhanced tracing system” isn’t something that will somehow make it possible to trace guns that simply aren’t where they’re supposed to be, nor will it really do much for unserialized firearms.

The live fire requirement for gun permits is another one of those things that is problematic. We don’t make sure people know how to reason before allowing them to speak on politics. They can say stupid stuff, sway people, and lead people toward all kinds of violent acts without anyone suggesting they should have to show proficiency before shooting their mouths off, but with guns, well, not all rights are created equal, apparently.

Massachusetts will likely pass these measures if past history is any indicator. That’s a shame, too, because for all the bluster, lawmakers there are ignoring the kinds of things that might actually make a real difference.

Of course, they claim they have a low gun fatality rate because gun control works, but there are a lot of other factors they’re ignoring that could be improved to reduce that rate even more.

They just have no interest in doing it because it won’t make the headlines like gun control will.