State Representative Susan Williams Gifford (R- Wareham) has joined a bipartisan effort to urge the Attorney General to rescind her recent enforcement notice relative to the state’s assault weapons ban.

Rep. Gifford was one of 48 House members and 10 Senate members to co-sponsor a letter to Attorney General Maura Healey expressing their concerns about her July 20 enforcement notice.

It notified licensed gun dealers that Healey's office is “stepping up” its enforcement efforts against the sale and possession of firearms deemed to be “duplicates” of guns banned under the state’s 1998 assault weapons law. The letter was signed by 40 Republicans and 18 Democrats.

In her notice, Healey outlined a two-test process her office will now use to determine if a weapon is banned under the law. Specifically, she has ruled that “a weapon is a copy or duplicate if its internal operating system is essentially the same as those of a specifically-banned weapon or if the gun has key functional components that are interchangeable with those of a banned weapon.”

Legislators who signed the letter objected to how the Attorney General issued the enforcement notice, noting that the decision was implemented without providing advance notice or asking input from the public or Legislature.

“Regardless of opinions pertaining to our second amendment rights, everyone should be extremely concerned about the way in which the A.G. has acted,” said Gifford. “Today, it’s Healey’s interpretation of gun laws that have been on the books for years. Who knows what she will do next. We are working on finding solutions to protect the rights of law abiding citizens.”

On her website, the Attorney General acknowledges there is currently no list of weapons that are banned under state law, but indicated that her office “will work with gun dealers, as necessary, to help them identify the guns that meet one or both of the tests of a copy or duplicate.”

Healey has indicated that her office will not pursue legal action against anyone who had purchased one of these weapons prior to the issuance of her enforcement notice.