States' Ballot Measures Reflect Differing Debates on Guns

Parked in his truck along a rural Idaho highway on his way to an elk hunt, Neill Goodfellow pondered a question that will appear on his November ballot: which of six historic firearms to choose as the official state gun? Goodfellow is going to vote for the M1 Garand, a semiautomatic rifle widely carried by US troops in World War II, the AP reports. In Massachusetts, voters are deciding a vastly different ballot question—whether to uphold a 2024 law requiring all firearms to be serialized and registered with the state and broadening a ban on "assault-style" guns.

Massachusetts and Idaho are far apart on the map and in America's gun debate. The November election won't settle the tension between firearm freedoms and restrictions, but the ballot questions will provide a gauge of public opinion.

• Massachusetts' measure: Should voters approve it, Question 9 will continue an array of gun restrictions passed overwhelmingly by the Democratic-led legislature in a state with one of the nation's lowest gun ownership rates. The question is going to voters because opponents gathered petition signatures forcing a referendum.
• Idaho's measure: The Republican-led legislature placed a nonbinding question on the ballot seeking voters' advice on designating "the state gun of Idaho." About 3 in 5 Idaho adults live in households with guns, which ranks among the highest rates nationally, according to an estimate from the RAND Gun Policy in America initiative. Some Republican lawmakers hope the ballot question will encourage more people to vote.

• Massachusetts' debate: Advocates tout the measure as the most comprehensive update in a decade to the state's firearms laws. In addition to establishing a firearm registry, it bars "ghost guns" that lack serial numbers and devices that convert guns to fire rapidly, and expands a ban on assault-style weapons. It also broadens a "red flag" law to add health care providers and school administrators to the list of those who can ask courts to temporarily remove guns from people who pose a risk to themselves or others. "This legislation both preserves a legal pathway to gun ownership while also putting guardrails in place that keep people safe," said the chair of the committee backing the measure. Residents face a Wednesday deadline to register their firearms with the state. The referendum on whether to repeal that requirement happens six days later. That sequence has frustrated some gun owners. "It's a total violation of people's rights to require this before they have their chance to vote on it," said the chair of the group leading the opposition.

• Idaho's debate: Of the six options presented to voters, "none of them really have a significant place in the history of Idaho," said Goodfellow, a board member of the Idaho State Rifle & Pistol Association. "My suspicion is a lot of folks are not going to have a clue" which one to choose, he said. But some see the issue as a fun topic to debate. That's primarily the point, said Idaho House Majority Leader Jason Monks, a Republican who sponsored the measure as a means of driving up voter turnout during the midterm elections. It's timed to coincide with the nation's 250th anniversary. "There's not much more patriotic in Idaho than guns—and the importance of guns in helping to found our country and settle the West," Monks said.