Advocates Rally Against New Mass. Gun Law

Gun advocates rallied in front of the Massachusetts State House Thursday, the first full day since the sale of assault-style weapons was banned in Massachusetts.

"I'm a kindergarten teacher. Why did my rights, all of a sudden, get taken away?" asked Jay Lewis. "I haven't done anything wrong, I haven't hurt anybody."

"We're here to protect our Second Amendment," said event organizer Joseph Locke. "We feel as if the attorney general has overstepped her reach and that she's trying to bypass the due process of the law."

Attorney General Maura Healey has told all 300 gun shop owners across the state that they can no longer sell assault weapons, including "copycat" weapons.

Healey says gun manufacturers have been marketing state-compliant versions to Massachusetts gun buyers, skirting the assault weapons ban passed back in the 90s.

Wednesday night, gun shops across the state were packed.

At one in Woburn, people waited in line for more than an hour to by an AR-style rifle, until they were all sold out.

"This was a political stunt so that Maura Healey could go to the DNC next week and tell Hillary Clinton supporters how she stuck it to law abiding residents of Massachusetts," Mark Lombardo said to the crowd.

"I feel railroaded, honestly," said Jonathan Argov. "This was given on eight-hour notice, nobody knew this was coming. If you're a member of any gun shops, gun stores, you got a bunch of emails last night saying 'hey, panic sale time, it's over.'"

Healey says the law won't be retro-active, meaning people who already have an assault style weapon at home, won't be breaking the law. But people who gathered in Boston are fearful that could be next.

"I have three children and a husband," said Denise Arcieri. "We all shoot, we hunt."

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