'Bearable Arms' Is Back in the Fight Over Massachusetts Gun Laws
Toby Leary used his October 23, 2026 appearance on RapidFire Radio to go after Massachusetts gun restrictions and to put the phrase "bearable arms" at the center of the argument. The episode, published by Bearing Arms, also hits short-barreled firearms, suppressors, privately made firearms, and the grassroots No on 9 campaign. A listener calls in to challenge campaign claims and to argue that gun rights draw support from both parties. Leary ties the outcome of the upcoming Supreme Court fights to how far Second Amendment protection actually reaches.
Key Details
The episode ran on Friday, October 23, 2026, and carried a 4:28 p.m. Eastern timestamp on the Bearing Arms feed. Leary's segment focuses on three areas that matter to anyone who owns, builds, or wants to own a regulated firearm.
- Massachusetts restrictions: Leary calls out the state's gun laws as the core target of the discussion.
- "Bearable arms": The phrase anchors his reading of which arms the Second Amendment protects.
- Short-barreled firearms and suppressors: Both fall under the National Firearms Act, and both draw heavy scrutiny in the debate.
- Privately made firearms: Leary addresses the fight over home-built guns, often called ghost guns, and where the law stands on them.
- No on 9: The episode covers this grassroots effort and the campaign claims made around it.
The caller segment shifts the conversation from legal theory to politics. The listener questions specific claims made by campaigns and pushes back on the idea that gun rights belong to one party. Leary answers with the argument that firearm ownership crosses party lines, a point gun owners in both red and blue states can test against their own neighbors and voter rolls.
Background
The phrase "bearable arms" comes from District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), where the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, including handguns in the home. Heller used the term to describe the class of weapons covered by the amendment's text. Courts have fought over the scope of that language ever since.
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) changed the test courts use. The Court struck down New York's proper-cause requirement for carry permits and held that gun laws must be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation. Rahimi (2024) followed and upheld a federal ban on gun possession by people under domestic violence restraining orders, while reinforcing that regulation must match historical analogues.
The National Firearms Act of 1934 regulates short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and suppressors. For decades, owners paid a $200 transfer tax and waited months for ATF approval. Congress reduced the tax on those items to $0 effective January 1, 2026, but the registration and background requirements remain. In Bondi v. VanDerStok (2025), the Supreme Court upheld the ATF's rule on frames and receivers, which pulled many kit-built and unserialized firearms into federal regulation.
Why It Matters for Gun Owners
Massachusetts remains one of the most restrictive states for gun owners, and any argument over "bearable arms" lands directly on its licensing and possession rules. Residents who hold a License to Carry or a Firearms Identification Card should track how the No on 9 campaign frames the stakes, because campaign messaging often shapes the rules that follow. Owners in other northeastern and West Coast states face similar fights over ghost guns, magazine limits, and assault weapon definitions.
Anyone who owns a short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, or suppressor should note the change in federal tax treatment. The $0 tax lowers the cost of entry, but the paperwork, the wait, and the state-level restrictions still apply. Some states ban suppressors outright or restrict them for hunting, so check local law before you buy, transport, or travel with one.
Anyone building a firearm at home should watch the privately made firearms debate closely. Federal rules on frames and receivers changed the legal status of many kits and partially finished parts. State laws add another layer, and some require serial numbers or background checks on home-built guns regardless of federal rules. Keep records of any build, and know whether your state treats it differently from the federal baseline.
DownRange Analysis
Bruen demands that the government prove a historical analogue for modern gun laws. Massachusetts restrictions on carry, licensing, and certain firearm types will struggle under that test if the state cannot point to founding-era or Reconstruction-era parallels with comparable burdens and purposes. Leary's focus on "bearable arms" goes right at the heart of that question. If courts read the phrase broadly, many categories the state regulates today become harder to defend.
The market will feel the outcome. Suppressor and short-barreled rifle sales have climbed since the tax change, and manufacturers are building for demand that keeps growing. A court ruling that weakens state bans would lift those sales further in restrictive states, while a ruling that upholds the status quo keeps buyers in the mail-order and out-of-state channels.
What should a gun owner do right now? Confirm your state's current rules on suppressors, SBRs, and home-built firearms. Keep your paperwork organized. Register your support or opposition with your state legislators, and give money or time to groups that fight in court, not just in press releases. Watch the No on 9 campaign's claims against the source material, and do not accept any claim you cannot verify.
