criminal-law consumer-protection massachusetts firearms second-amendment
What is the legal grounds for the MA approved gun roster?
<p>In Massachusetts, the attorney general's office ruled, many years ago, that only guns that they approve of, which have certain features, are legal to sell in the state. </p>

<p>This regulation claimed to stem from CMR 140, the consumer protection law against false advertising. </p>

<p>How is this regulation possibly legal? What is the legal argument that "you can't claim your product does something it doesn't" leads to, "if you don't include these features in your product, it's illegal to sell here"?</p>

<p>The regulation is legal because it hasn't been overturned by legislation or invalidated by the judiciary.</p>

<p>The premise of the regulation goes something like this:</p>

<ol>
<li>There is a compelling public interest in preventing unsafe goods from being sold to consumers.</li>
<li>Guns are inherently dangerous consumer goods</li>
<li>The AG has identified "safety features" that, the office claims, make a gun less dangerous than ones without it.  These are spelled out in <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section123" rel="nofollow">MGL 140, §123 clauses 18-21</a></li>
</ol>

<p>One may argue that these are <em>designed</em> to infringe the rights of MA citizens to lawfully acquire many arms that are in common use.  But that argument has not seen any legal success.</p>

<p>Such "required safety features" regulations are hardly unusual.  Just to pick one at random: <a href="https://www.cpsc.gov//Global/Safety%20Education/Home%20Garden%20Outdoors/5126WalkBehindPowerMowerFactSheet.pdf" rel="nofollow">Here are safety features required of all walk-behind powered lawn-mowers</a>.</p>
