LETTERS.

MASSACHUSETTS WAY AHEAD IN GUN CONTROL

Editor:

I enjoyed your May issue, including your Statestats page entitled "Bearing Arms: Legislators Aim for Solutions." However, there were two areas where information relative to Massachusetts firearm laws was omitted.

You listed only three states that have closed the "gun show loophole" by requiring background checks. Massachusetts has avoided the gun show loophole for decades by requiring that all purchasers be licensed, whether the purchase is from a dealer or a private individual. Our licensing process includes a comprehensive background check to screen out disqualified individuals. This ensures that all purchasers, at gun shows and elsewhere, have undergone a full background check.

Massachusetts was also omitted from your list of states that require registration of guns. Massachusetts requires that all sales and other transfers be reported to the state's executive office of public safety, including make, model, serial number and the identity of the purchaser. These records are then kept in a comprehensive database that is used to trace guns that are connected to crimes.

A recent report published by the Open Society Institute's Center for Crime, Community and Culture determined that Massachusetts has the most comprehensive gun laws of any state in the nation. This is a distinction that we wear as a badge of honor, and I urge legislative leaders in other states to look to Massachusetts as a model for effective and responsible gun violence prevention laws.

Cheryl A. Jacques

Senator

Massachusetts

Editor's note: Our chart looks at states with statutes expressly requiring all gun show dealers--federally licensed dealers and private sellers--to conduct background checks. Massachusetts has essentially closed the gun show background check loophole through licensing and registration requirements. We apologize for any confusion this narrow distinction may have caused. Senator Jacques was the chief Senate sponsor of the Massachusetts Gun Control Act of 1998. For more information on Massachusetts gun laws, readers can call her office, (617) 722-1555, or send e-mail to CJacques@senate.state.ma.us

PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN RAPE CASES

Editor:

Michigan Senator Shirley Johnson introduced legislation to eliminate the six-year statute of limitations in the case of rape and other violent sexual assaults. Impetus for the measure was the advances in DNA testing which can identify a perpetrator...