New England Public Radio

The Short List: Massachusetts’ Strict Gun Laws, Scrutiny On Sick Time, A Look At Legislative Showdowns

What made The Short List this week?

  • The shooting rampage that killed 49 people in an Orlando gay nightclub has reignited the debate about the need for stricter gun control laws across the country. Florida has some of the least restrictive, which allowed the shooter to legally purchase an assault rifle and high capacity magazines. that wouldn’t have been possible in Massachusetts, which has some of the nation’s strictest.
  • This week Governor Charlie Baker suggested minimizing the amount of accrued sick time that some state employees can collect when they retire.
  • With all the noise from the presidential campaign — it’s easy to forget all the local contests we have coming up. We talk about top state legislative races.

Click the audio player above to hear New England Public Radio’s Susan Kaplan explore these issues with Ron Chimelis of the Springfield Republican and Matt Szafranski of the Western Mass Politics and Insight blog.

Musicians On Gun Violence?

At The Least, A Needed Gesture Says Commentator Steve Metcalf

In the wake of the San Bernadino shootings earlier this month, many public figures, presidential candidates among them, conveyed their “thoughts and prayers” for the victims. Commentator Steve Metcalf, former Hartford Courant classical music critic and now curator of the Richard P. Garmany Chamber Music Series, at the Hartt School, says at this point, even the people who utter those thoughts and prayers admit how tired and inadequate the statements can be.

I spend most of my life working with and among classical musicians. Lately I’ve been thinking: what if the classical musical community could find a way to offer a more concrete response — to be more of a presence — in the gun violence conversation? I realize that musicians often tend not to be political people. But they are usually sensible people. And on this topic, sensible is all we’re looking for. In any case, my thought is this: the major organizations representing the classical music world– would together craft a very simple and direct statement. The statement would be something like: “We deplore the growing gun violence in our country and we call on lawmakers at all levels to enact common-sense legislation that will make America safer for all of its citizens, including, and especially, our children.” The statement, then, would be issued by a newly minted entity to be called, let us say, Classical Musicians For Common Sense Gun Policy. This entity would basically just be a website and a Facebook page, to be administered in a few hours a week. And here’s the kicker: once the statement is drafted, printed concert programs from around the country could routinely begin to carry, at the bottom of the page, a line that said: The musicians in tonight’s concert support Classical Musicians For Common Sense Gun Policy, followed by the website. I know — this idea will not by itself be a game changer. It’s simply a gesture. But it looks like we’re going to need gestures — a lot of them — if we’re ever going to fix this. I tried this idea out on some musician friends. They liked it, but one of them said: what if there were a few players here and there who don’t actually endorse common sense gun policy? I hadn’t thought of that, but I think our response would be clear: We would keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

 

 

 

 

Author: Western Massachusetts Sparked American Revolution

Students associate 1776 with the American Revolution. But that’s only part of the story, according to author Ray Raphael.

Raphael’s book “The Spirit of ’74: How the American Revolution Began” focuses on sixteen months between the Boston Tea Party and Lexington and Concord. He says in this new narrative, Worcester native Timothy Bigelow was important.

Click the audio player above to hear Raphael’s conversation with New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy.

Patrick Sides With Police Chiefs In Dispute Over Rifle Licenses

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is standing with police chiefs who are seeking discretionary powers in issuing licenses for shotguns and rifles.

The Senate last week removed that provision from a wide-ranging gun bill that’d previously passed the House. Patrick on Wednesday was asked about the legislation and the disagreement that could derail it.

“In either case, we have a bill that is a step forward. It doesn’t go as far as I’d like, but in the nature of legislation, it represents a compromise and a pretty constructive one,” Patrick said. “On that one question though, I side with the police chiefs…and the law enforcement officials that the House version is the stronger of the two.

The Senate stripped the new discretionary powers for rifle licenses after gun owners said police had abused that same authority in issuing handgun licenses.

Six senators who voted to remove the provision are proposing an alternative they say would restore “limited flexibility” for police.

State House News Service contributed to this report.

Massachusetts Lawmakers Hold Final Public Hearing Before Crafting Gun Law

A Massachusetts legislative committee held a hearing at the statehouse Friday on gun bills. It’s the last public meeting on the issue before lawmakers draft a final bill.

The auditorium was packed with hundreds of people. Some wore National Rifle Association caps, while others carried signs that read “Stop Gun Violence.”

Gov. Deval Patrick testified in favor of his bill to require Massachusetts courts give mental health records to the FBI, allowing other states access to the records before issuing gun licenses.

“This information will only be used for the purposes of firearm licensing and make sure that Massachusetts is aware of a resident’s full history when it’s time to license them for a firearm,” Patrick said.

Some mental health advocates worry that submitting records could invade patients’ privacy rights or discourage them from seeking mental health treatment.

About 60 gun bills are pending before the legislature.  The proposals include stricter sentences for gun crimes, establishing a registry of all gun offenders in Massachusetts and requiring gun owners to buy liability insurance.

Lawmakers hope to hammer out a comprehensive bill this fall.

Nicole Hockley was among those testifying. Her six-year-old son Dylan was killed in the massacre at Sandy Hook elementary school.

“He was autistic and he was a beautiful little boy who just loved the simple things in life,” Hockley said. “He loved the moon, he loved the color purple, and he loved garlic bread.  That was happiness for him.  And he died in the arms of his special education teacher and she died trying to protect him.”

Hockley said what happened in Newtown could happen in Massachusetts. She asked the legislature to pass tighter gun controls.

Also testifying was Jim Wallace, the executive director of the Gun Owners’ Action League. He urged the panel not to penalize responsible gun owners.

“You know, one of the things I hear all the time is that we have to prevent access of guns from unlawful people,” Wallace said. “We really need to deal with unlawful people being on the streets themselves, because they’re going to find access to something that will cause harm.”