Question 9 is a referendum on St. 2024, c. 135, the firearms act. A Yes keeps the act. A No repeals it. The interesting part is what a repeal would and would not undo.
| Vote | Effect |
|---|---|
| Yes | The 2024 act stands. |
| No | The 2024 act is repealed. |
G.L. c. 4, § 6, First provides for the revival of statutes that a repealed act had itself repealed. The practical consequence is that a No vote would not leave a vacuum; it would return the field to the law as it stood before the act, which is itself the product of the amendments described in the statutory history.
G.L. c. 4, § 6, Second is a savings provision addressed to proceedings already under way. Its effect is that a repeal does not by itself extinguish a pending prosecution. Anyone whose exposure depends on conduct before the vote should not assume the referendum resolves it.
It does not tell you how to vote, and it does not predict the result. It sets out what the act did, what the two outcomes do to it, and which provisions govern the aftermath, so that the sources are in one place.