Four States Vote Nov. 3 on Gun Measures, Led by Massachusetts Question 9

Voters in four states decide gun-related ballot measures on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Massachusetts Question 9 asks voters to keep or repeal the state’s 2024 firearms law. Arkansas Issue 2 rewrites the arms clause of the state constitution. Colorado Amendment 83 would add a right to hunt and fish. Idaho asks voters to pick a state gun from six choices.

Question 9 is a referendum on an existing law, Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, titled An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Information for Voters booklet puts the mechanics simply: a yes vote keeps the law, and a no vote repeals it. The ballot question records that the House approved the law 124 to 33 and the Senate 35 to 5 on July 18, 2024. Gov. Maura Healey signed it on July 25, 2024.

The Attorney General’s summary in the booklet lists what the law does. It requires serial numbers on all firearms except antiques and relics, including unfinished frames and receivers, and sets penalties for untraceable “ghost guns.” It changes the definition of machine gun to include bump stocks, trigger cranks, Glock switches and auto sears. It makes 21 the minimum age to own semiautomatic rifles or shotguns, adds school administrators and licensed healthcare providers to the parties who can ask a court for an extreme risk protection order, and bars carrying firearms in government buildings, polling locations and schools, with exceptions. New applicants for a license to carry or a firearm ID card must complete State Police training and pass a test.

The booklet’s argument in favor, from Vote Yes for a Safe Massachusetts, says the state’s gun death rate is 70 percent below the national average. The argument against, from The Civil Rights Coalition, calls the law a 116-page reinvention of state firearms law that mandates an electronic tracking system the state has not funded. A UMass Amherst/WCVB poll of 800 respondents taken Oct. 5 to 12 found 70 percent likely to vote yes and 21 percent likely to vote no, with a 4.2 percent margin of error.

Arkansas Issue 2

Issue 2 was referred by the General Assembly as SJR 11, filed by Sen. J. Payton in the 2025 regular session. It amends Article 2, Section 5 of the Arkansas Constitution, which now guarantees the right to keep and bear arms for the common defense. The amendment adds lawful hunting and recreational use and “any other lawful purpose,” states that the right includes the possession and use of ammunition, firearm accessories and firearm components, and declares the right “a natural, fundamental, and individual right that shall not be infringed.” A majority of those voting on the issue adopts it. If adopted, it takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Colorado Amendment 83

Amendment 83 reached the ballot by citizen petition. The Secretary of State’s office certified it on Aug. 20, 2026 after proponents submitted 184,097 signatures, of which 145,299 were valid against a 124,238 minimum. As a constitutional amendment, it passes only with 55 percent of the vote.

The measure text adds Section 13 to Article XVIII of the state constitution. It establishes a right to hunt, fish and take fish and wildlife by traditional methods, and declares hunting and fishing the preferred means of managing fish and wildlife populations. Nongame species, endangered species and species illegal to hunt under federal law are excluded. The section keeps the state’s authority to regulate hunting and fishing when a law is necessary for sound scientific wildlife management, public safety or the preservation of future hunting and fishing opportunities, and it does not authorize trespass. The Legislative Council’s Blue Book says the measure makes no immediate change to existing regulations. Its argument in favor notes that 24 other states carry a right to hunt and fish in their constitutions and that license sales supply about $115 million, one-third of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s annual revenue.

Idaho’s State Gun

Idaho’s question is advisory. House Bill 932 passed the House 68 to 0 and the Senate 32 to 0, and Gov. Brad Little signed it on April 2, 2026. The ballot asks which of six guns should be designated the state gun of Idaho: the Winchester Model 1894 in .30-30, the Winchester Model 1873 in .44-40, the 1873 Colt Single Action Army in .45 Colt, the M1 Garand in .30-06, the Colt M1911 in .45 ACP and the Remington Model 700 in .30-06. The voter pamphlet says the measure is non-binding, and the Legislature must act in a future session to designate a winner.

Polls close Nov. 3. The Arkansas amendment, if adopted, takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, and Idaho’s Legislature would take up a state gun bill in a future session.