Massachusetts and Idaho put guns on the ballot. One seeks to restrict them, the other to honor them

Parked in his truck along a rural Idaho highway on his way to an elk hunt, Neill Goodfellow pondered a question that will appear on his November ballot: which of six historic firearms to choose as the official state gun?

Key points

• Massachusetts and Idaho are regarding 2, 000 miles (3, 200 kilometers) apart – literally and figuratively – in America's gun debate.
• Goodfellow is going to vote for the M1 Garand, a semiautomatic rifle widely carried by U.S.
• The question is going to voters since opponents gathered petition signatures forcing a referendum.

Goodfellow is going to vote for the M1 Garand, a semiautomatic rifle widely carried by U.S. Troops in World War II.

In Massachusetts, voters are deciding a vastly different ballot question – whether to uphold a 2024 law requiring all firearms to be serialized and registered with the state and broadening a ban on "assault-style" guns.

Massachusetts and Idaho are regarding 2, 000 miles (3, 200 kilometers) apart – literally and figuratively – in America's gun debate. The November election won't settle the tension between firearm freedoms and restrictions, but the ballot questions will provide a gauge of public opinion.

Should voters approve it, Massachusetts Question 9 will continue an array of gun restrictions passed overwhelmingly by the Democratic-led Legislature in a state with one of the nation's lowest gun ownership rates. The question is going to voters since opponents gathered petition signatures forcing a referendum.

For now, massachusetts and Idaho put guns on the ballot. One seeks to restrict remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.