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Summary of Question 5

The proposed legislation would prohibit the possession, ownership, or sale of any weapon from which a shot or bullet can be discharged and which has a barrel length of less than sixteen inches. The prohibition would not apply to military personnel, law enforcement officers, federally licensed handgun manufacturers and wholesalers, common carriers in the ordinary course of transport, or to historical societies and museums. The act would not affect the possession of rifles, shotguns, and certain antiques and replicas. The proposal also does not change the existing statutory penalties for unlawful possession, ownership or sale of handguns, including provision imposing mandatory jail sentences.

The proposal would permit owners of handguns to surrender their weapons to any law enforcement agency in the Commonwealth within six months of the effective date of the act without incurring criminal liability. Those surrendering handguns within that six months will be compensated at a rate to be determined by the Commissioner of Public Safety.

1976 - Statewide - Question 5Do you approve of a law summarized below, which was disapproved by the House of Representatives on May 3, 1976, by a vote of 197-35, and on which no vote was taken by the Senate before May 5, 1976?

View as: # | %  
County Blanks Total Votes Cast
Barnstable More »
 
22,462
47,911
3,940
74,313
Berkshire More »
 
14,014
50,603
5,312
69,929
Bristol More »
 
48,246
127,684
19,275
195,205
Dukes More »
 
1,940
2,837
445
5,222
Essex More »
 
88,113
199,462
20,089
307,664
Franklin More »
 
5,981
24,311
1,377
31,669
Hampden More »
 
36,391
138,876
13,153
188,420
Hampshire More »
 
16,438
41,894
2,633
60,965
Middlesex More »
 
228,196
388,766
37,594
654,556
Nantucket More »
 
799
1,707
157
2,663
Norfolk More »
 
103,217
190,053
14,619
307,889
Plymouth More »
 
42,720
117,024
8,092
167,942
Suffolk More »
 
79,141
124,322
35,051
238,514
Worcester More »
 
55,356
214,495
19,566
289,417
Totals
743,014
1,669,945
181,303 2,594,262