The people of Massachusetts have been dealing with their own special brew of Bruen response law. The legislators in the Bay State took nearly two years to fashion what would be a measure to enhance public safety, but the bill does little but punish the law-abiding gun owners. In response to the law being signed by Governor Maura Healey, an organization called the Civil Rights Coalition was created to gather signatures to halt the law coming into effect, as well as put it to a ballot vote in 2026. Recently, volunteers with the Coalition were met with hostility from the staff of the “Big E.”

The Eastern States Exposition, or “Big E,” is the largest fair in New England and the east coast. The exposition runs annually for a little over two weeks and can draw from 50,000 up to an over 100,000 visitors per day.

Volunteers from the Civil Rights Coalition said in an interview that they were present for the opening day of the fair. “We went on opening day, which was the 13th. it was Veterans Appreciation Day, So we had a great turnout,” the Coalition volunteer said. “We had [a] conversation with Cliff, who was head of public safety and security. We had a nice conversation with him. He allowed us to stay in the spot in front of the Connecticut building all day, and we left on our own accord at five o'clock.”

Coalition members said that Cliff Hedges, the director of public safety of the Big E, did approach the group and after chatting with them, gave his blessing for them to stay on the property. If anything, Coalition members said that Hedges seemed sympathetic to the cause.

Volunteers from the Coalition returned to the Big E on Massachusetts Day. When members of the group were in the Massachusetts building, a building actually owned by the State of Massachusetts, they said that Governor Maura Healey visited with someone who identified themselves as the president of the Big E, who told them to leave the premises. 

The Big E is private property open to the public. Under normal rules set by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the owners of such properties can’t harass those in the process of obtaining signatures for nominating papers and ballot question petitions. However, since the Big E charges an admittance fee to gain entry, they have more control over what can and can’t be done on their property, regardless of whether signature gatherers are being intrusive to other visitors. This is a bit of a gray area and not the same as hanging out in front of or in the parking lot of a grocery store.

The Coalition, being the friendly folks they are, then set up shop outside the gates of the fair on several occasions until the fair wrapped up for the year.

It’s unclear if the pushback the volunteers received came solely from the president of the Big E directly or if he felt pressure from the Governor’s office. Toby Leary, the chairman of the committee, said after learning about the incident, “Maura Healey is no longer just about infringing on the 2nd Amendment, they are now violating your First Amendment as well.” It’s probably no coincidence that the president asked them to leave after a volunteer was seen in the background of a press event holding up a “Save your 2A rights” sign right behind Healy.

During another press event held last week, the Coalition discussed the push for gathering signatures. 

“My name is Toby Leary, I am the chairman of the Civil Rights Coalition,” Leary opened with. “This is a ballot initiative that we launched about a little over a month ago to recall H 4885, it's become known as the ACT chapter 135, of the acts of 2024, and we're just trying to call attention to it and awareness to it.”

Leary said that they are “literally in unprecedented waters here” and that “there's never been gun control legislation like this passed anywhere else in the country.” One of the biggest threats to the people of Massachusetts is that many gun owners just are not aware of the situation and Leary noted “we want to let the people of Massachusetts know that they could wake up on October 24th and be a felon [because] the government says that there's a special type of gun that they can't own.”

During the press event, Leary stated they only have a few weeks to gather all the 49,716 required signatures, and at that time, they were about halfway there.

Coalition members being able to gather signatures at the Big E has been an important part of the process. A process that State Senator John Velis, one of the members of the legislature who voted in favor of the flawed law, said is the right of the people to do, at least in general. 

“One of the beautiful things about this country…in this Commonwealth,” Velis opened up during an interview. He said, “That if you're upset with something, if you don't agree with something, if you think something is unconstitutional, you have every right to bring that forth, challenge that, and let either voters, in the case of a petition and a ballot or courts, decide if that's accurate.”

Velis’ constituency and district includes the property where the Big E is located in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

When Coalition members returned to the Big E to gather signatures outside the entrance gates, they said that they were harassed several times by staff members of the fair. 

Preemptively, after their first negative exchange at the fair, volunteers went down to the West Springfield Police Department to make sure their activity was legal. They said that the West Springfield PD had no issues with their conduct and just told them to make sure they don’t block the sidewalk or get in anyone’s way.

This last Sunday, an exchange with a ticket booth attendant escalated to the fair's director of security being called by the employee. The employee left their post and told the volunteers that they had to leave and go across the street. Coalition members reiterated that they were in their right to be there. Director of Security Hedges came back and after several times “checking in on” the Coalition members, he told them they needed to move. After the volunteers, yet again, reiterated that they were in their right to be there, Hedges allegedly told them, “Well, if you're not going to move, then I'm going to call the cops.”

The volunteer that Hedges was addressing made a rather valid point. According to the volunteer, he responded with, “Please do. Please call them, because this is a problem.” He continued, “You are not allowed to tell me to move. You’re badgering [me].” It was said that Hedges left the area and was seen making a phone call – presumably to the police.

At 7:03 p.m., on Sunday the 22nd, an “unwanted person” call was made to the West Springfield Police Department. We obtained a copy of the police report. The report said that an unknown caller said there were protesters who were being disruptive and not staying on the sidewalk.

In the report it noted that responding officer Michael Grillo spoke with the “protesters.”

I spoke with the protestors who stated they were not blocking the sidewalk and were just asking for signatures. I explained that they can remain there, but can not impede the flow of pedestrian foot traffic on the sidewalk. The reporting party left prior to officers arrival.

The West Springfield Police Department’s public information officer was contacted about this exchange. Sergeant Joe LaFrance, when asked about the conduct of Coalition members, he said the WSPD “had a brief encounter, pleasant encounter,” with the volunteers. He said that he did not know who made the call because “the complainant []never showed up.” LaFrance further noted that an “officer on a mountain bike pulled up, spoke to the detail officer who was actually directing traffic, and said, ‘they're minding their own business. They're doing everything right.’”

When asked if there was any illegal conduct occurring, LaFrance said:

The officer who had contact with them said they were respectful and friendly. They were doing everything right. They were on public property on the grass, doing their thing. And he said, “Hey, great. I don't know what the issue is. Whoever complained isn't here. I see no problem. I ask that you not block the sidewalk for pedestrians and have a great day.”

LaFrance added, “I can tell you that the encounter between the police and these gentlemen was respectful, polite, and there were no issues that the officer could see. He said, ‘everything seemed on the up and up,’ and he went on his way.” And before ending the conversation he said, “You know, we enforce the laws of Massachusetts and the Constitution of the United States. There was no problem outside in front. They were well within their right, doing everything they were supposed to do. So we went on our way and we didn't get a call back.”

In a statement when accompanying the police report it was said that:

The report is brief and the "reporting party" is not identified and did not show up to speak with the responding officer. Of note, we had an attendance of 148,000 people that day, the police had a very busy day and reports tend to be brief if they don't have to take action or in this case, unfounded. My conversation with Officer Grillo is that his encounter with the group was polite and respectful, which we appreciate. The calls that are received at the Big E security office are not recorded, only 911 calls or calls received at police headquarters are recorded.

From the accounts of these volunteers, the leadership at the Big E has a problem with the Coalition members exercising their First Amendment right while trying to protect the Second Amendment. As noted earlier, it’s not known if this is due to pressure from the governor’s office, or perhaps the president’s own bias. Regardless, it’s an unfortunate and ugly stain on the shirt of the Big E.

Is the Big E anti-Second Amendment?

Millions of people regularly visit the exposition. Many of the folks that show up to an agricultural/”farm” spirited event overwhelmingly support the Second Amendment. Why they decided to make such a stink about the signature gathering, we don’t know. Mr. Cliff Hedges, the public safety director did not return a voicemail or email seeking comment from him about the exchange or any policies at the Big E.

With not much time left to gather the required signatures, hitting such obstructionist roadblocks is a waste of resources and valuable time.

To follow the progress of the Civil Rights Coalition and or support them, you can visit them on the web HERE. Also, be sure to stop in and visit the homepage of Gun Owners Action League, the organization spearheading litigation fighting the unconstitutional measures.