While lawmakers got underway with the first of three final days of formal sessions Saturday, hundreds of guns rights activists rallied outside the State House to repudiate Attorney General Maura Healey's move to intensify enforcement of the state's gun control laws.

"Be aware, this has gone national. This is a firestorm" Gun Owners Action League Jim Wallace told the crowd of hundreds who gathered in front of the State House Saturday morning.

Healey this week announced a new crackdown on what she called "copycat" weapons that made cosmetic changes to banned firearms to avoid the state's ban on assault weapons.

Protesters carried signs describing Healey as "The DEATH of of Liberty," and reading "Black rifles matter!"
One sign with a photo of Healey read "Took an oath to protect and preserve the constitution, destroys it instead" and another featured a large photo of the attorney general with a mustache resembling Adolf Hitler's with the words "HEIL HEALEY" as a caption. 

"My rights TRUMP your dead" was the slogan on another hand-made sign.

The protesters secondary target was Gov. Charlie Baker, who they urged to take action to reverse Healey's decision. Baker, however, is standing by Healey's authority to enforce the ban. Since both branches of the Legislature were in session Saturday, many Republican members attended and spoke at the rally.

"If people are in fact selling weapons that violate the Massachusetts assault weapon ban, then that should be dealt with and people should do something about it," Baker said during an appearance on WGBH's Boston Public Radio Thursday.

Baker said he wants clarity from Healey on with weapons will be affected to avoid confusion for shops and gun owners.

"Charlie, do you hear that one?" Wallace asked before protesters began repeating the governor's name with the occasional "you suck!" punctuating the chants.

"Everybody here has to understand how broad of a ban this just became. This is not about so-called assault weapons. This is every single semi-automatic rifle out there that takes a detachable magazine, potentially shotguns and also potentially handguns,"

Wallace said Healey's decision means anyone who has legally purchased one of a broad spectrum of weapons "you are now a felon in waiting," according to Healey.

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Pay Equity Bill Reaches Baker's Desk

A bill to try to bridge the gap between what men and women earn in Massachusetts is headed for Gov. Charlie Baker's desk after receiving approval from both chambers of the Legislature Saturday.

The House and Senate scheduled the rare Saturday session months ago to carve out time to debate bills before lawmakers recess for the year and so members could attend the Republican and Democratic national conventions. Formal debate was paused last week while Republicans nominated Donald Trump for president, but only a handful of Massachusetts GOP lawmakers attended the convention.

One of the six major pieces of legislation Baker and legislative leaders are determined to pass before the end of session, the pay equity bill was fasttracked by both chambers this week and given final approval Saturday. Lawmakers skipped the traditional process of reconciling the chambers' differing versions of the bill through negotiations by a six-member conference committee by writing a new compromise version which sailed through both branches.

The bill would prohibit employers from asking prospective employees about their earning history and bar action taken against employees who disclose their salaries to others. It would also grant employers some protection against litigation if they launch audits of their pay structure to determine gaps between men and women.

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Senate Raises Paid Family Leave Bill, Putting Pressure On House Next Year

Workers in Massachusetts would have access to paid family leave under a bill introduced in the Senate Saturday. 

The bill would create a new insurance program operated by the state where employers would pay into the system and workers would be authorized to tap funds during eligible leaves. Reasons for taking paid time off include aiding family members of caring for newborn children.

You can add the leave bill to the pile of bills expected to die before the clock runs out on the 2015-2016 Legislative session. The House is not expected to take up the bill before the July 31 end of formal sessions.

This bill may be dead on arrival, but it could be a significant sign that the issue will be on the forefront of senators' and activists' minds next session. The new two-year session begins in January, giving proponents another shot to convince House speaker Robert DeLeo to take up the bill.

After July, lawmakers turn their attention to reelection and the biannual campaign season. Only about one third of the 200-member Legislature face opponents this Fall.

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And On To Philly

Democrats will decamp from Massachusetts Sunday to travel to Philadelphia for the 2016 Democratic National convention where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine will be nominated as the party's presidential ticket.

During the week of politics in Philly, work will continue behind closed doors on the five remaining major bills most agree the Legislature must pass this year. Bills to reconfigure the state's clean energy supply, grow jobs through economic development, restrict non-compete clauses in employment contracts, reform municipal finances and regulate the ride-hailing industry.

The House and Senate will be back in session next weekend on Saturday and Sunday, the final two days to vote on bills before formal sessions end.