AG Healey Warns Gun Dealers on State’s Assault Weapons Ban

FILE – (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

BOSTON (AP) — Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey is warning gun dealers and manufacturers in Massachusetts against selling banned assault weapons, including what she described as copycat weapons.

Healey said Wednesday her office is stepping up enforcement of the state’s assault weapons ban in the wake of the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, last month.

Healey says the enforcement notice sent to gun sellers and manufacturers clarifies what constitutes a “copy” or “duplicate” weapon under the state’s assault weapons ban, including copies of the Colt AR-15 and the Kalashnikov AK-47.

Despite the law, Healey says an estimated 10,000 copycat assault weapons were sold in Massachusetts last year.

Gun Owners’ Action League Executive Director Jim Wallace says the group is trying to decipher what the enforcement letter from Healey means.