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Contact Your State Representatives Regarding HD4220, An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws

Please contact your State Representative in support of An Act to Modernize Firearm Laws, HD4220.

We are not immune to gun violence in Massachusetts.  While the Commonwealth has the lowest rate of gun deaths nationwide, according to the Gun Violence Archive, 387 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in Massachusetts in 2023.  In the first 18 days of July alone, eight people have been killed and 18 injured by firearms across the Commonwealth, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The opposition to this bill is organized, loud and fierce. It is critical that legislators, even though they are pro-gun control, can count the number of constituents on the other side.  Each of us needs to contact our state representative and state senator in support of this bill.

On Monday, July 17, Representative Michael Day of Stoneham, Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, briefed LWVMA members on this new omnibus bill. View the recording here.

Read the LWVMA summary and press release here.

If you have access to the Boston Globe, check out their July 10 editorial on this bill: Why Massachusetts can’t wait for Congress to enact stronger gun safety laws (bostonglobe.com)

Read more →

Monday, July 17 at 7pm: Zoom Informational Meeting on Proposed Gun Control Laws

Aren’t we safe from gun violence in Massachusetts? While the Commonwealth has the lowest rate of gun deaths nationwide, we are not immune. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 387 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in Massachusetts in 2023. It will take all of us to stem the rising tide of gun violence that claims the lives 130 Americans every day.

Representative Michael Day of Stoneham, Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, will brief us on his brand new omnibus bill, An Act to Modernize Firearm Laws, HD4220, on Monday, July 17 at 7:00 PM via Zoom.  Chair Day filed the 141 page bill–the most sweeping legislation since the gun reform bill of 2014. Conducting an 11 stop firearms listening tour throughout the Commonwealth, Rep. Day was charged with writing the bill following the US Supreme Court’s decision in the Bruen concealed carry case.

Register here.

Read the LWVMA summary and press release here.

If you have access to the Boston Globe, check out their July 10 editorial on this bill: Why Massachusetts can’t wait for Congress to enact stronger gun safety laws (bostonglobe.com)

Annual Meeting Update

On June 15, 2023, members gathered at the beautiful historic Allen House for our first in person Annual Meeting in three years.  We welcomed old and new members, as well as the students and families of our scholarship award winners.

Everyone was so excited to be together again that the socializing portion of the meeting took much longer than expected.  Nevertheless, we managed to accomplish a great deal during the business portion of the meeting.  Some highlights include:

  • Jen Abbott was awarded this year’s Jane Leighton Award
  • Over 20 new members were welcomed
  • The 2023-2024 Program was approved, including the adoption of an initiative to review the taxation of Newton golf courses and country clubs
  • Changes to our bylaws were adopted which clarified membership status and who is eligible to be a “voting member” of LWVN
  • A budget for the new Fiscal Year was approved (see the 2023 Annual Meeting Workbook)
  • We gave tribute to these members leaving the Board (for now – we hope some of them choose to come back some time): Andrea Kozinetz, Lisa Mirabile, Linda Morrison, Judy Jaffe
  • A new slate of officers and directors was approved:

We welcomed the following new Board members:

Finally, we gave tribute to Bonnie Carter, who has been a member of LWVN for over 50 years and has served in various capacities on the Board of Directors for almost as long.  Bonnie and her husband Walter have moved to Concord, MA and, as such, she will not be as active in the LWVN as we are accustomed to. Therefore, we decided to give her a warm and special LWVN acknowledgment.

Thank you Bonnie!!

LWVN Supports Village Center Overlay District

On June 26, 2023, LWVN sent a letter to the City Council in support of the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) in furtherance of the positions of LWVN and implementation of the Massachusetts Housing Choice Bill (MBTA Communities).

The VCOD is structured to promote safe and secure housing at a range of price points, while incentivizing increasing supply of smaller units.  It concentrates the opportunity for compact development near transit and where key infrastructure exists, providing support to our local economy with minimal increase in car trips, while supporting walkable centers. It is in furtherance of the regional plan (MBTA Communities) enacted to address the critical housing shortage by increasing the housing supply statewide, particularly in connection with transportation hubs.

You can read the entirety of LWVN’s letter below:

The League Presents: Pride Month Edition – A Conversation with Newton Youth

Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969. Modern-day Pride Month honors the movement for LGBT rights and celebrates LGBT culture. In honor of Pride Month, Marcia Johnson, League president, had a conversation with:

– Amiya Smith – An officer of the Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA), Newton North
– Ben Miner – President of the Gender & Sexuality Awareness (GSA) Club, Newton South

The focus of the conversation was the role of the GSA, the importance of using the pronouns that align with an individual’s gender identity, and what could be done for Newton and its schools to be more accepting and respectful of LGBTQ+ students and residents.