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Former Pelham Police Chief Edward B. Fleury faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., at a gun show in Westfield last October organized by Fleury's business.

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The locked aluminum gate, left, is seen at the main entrance to the Westfield Sportman's Club on Furrowton Road in Westfield, Mass on Monday, Oct. 27, 2008. Eight-year old Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn. died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine gun at a gun fair held on the premises on Sun. Oct. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/George Ruhe)

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Former Pelham Police Chief Edward B. Fleury faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., at a gun show in Westfield last October organized by Fleury's business.

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AP FILE PHOTO

Devin Connery, of Lunenberg, fires a Heckler & Koch universal machine-pistol made in Germany at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo sponsored by the Westfield Sportsman's Club and C.O.P. Firearms & Training last October in Westfield. Later in the day an 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head.

WESTFIELD - A year after an 8-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed himself with a machine gun at a firearms exhibition in Westfield, reforms regulating the use of automatic weapons and gun expos have stalled in the commonwealth.

At Hampden Superior Court on Dec. 7, former Pelham Police Chief Edward B. Fleury will face a charge of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a minor in connection with the death of Christopher K. Bizilj, of Ashford, Conn.

Christopher died a year ago today when the 9 mm Micro Uzi he was firing at the Westfield Sportsman's Club recoiled. The boy accidentally shot himself in the head under the supervision of a 15-year-old boy as his father stood reaching for a camera nearby, according to authorities.

Fleury helped organized the gun show through his group, C.O.P. Firearms & Training. The Westfield club also faces charges, including involuntary manslaughter, as do two Connecticut gun dealers who provided the weapons and ammunition at the machine gun shoot.

Calls for reform

In the immediate wake of last year's tragedy, calls for gun law reforms involving automatic weapons rang throughout the state. Many were shocked to learn that a boy so young could be firing a submachine gun used by Israeli special forces - and fire it under questionable supervision.

"Sometimes laws don't cover stupidity by adults," said state Rep. George N. Peterson Jr., R-Grafton, the lead sponsor of a comprehensive gun law reform bill still before the Legislature that addresses machine gun use.

"The shame of the situation was that the father allowed him to do it," Peterson said. "You had adults in the area. It's a tragedy that shouldn't have happened."

Meanwhile, Connecticut lawmakers approved a machine gun and assault weapon ban for children in that state six months after Christopher's death.

The law goes into effect this month and bans anyone under age 16 from handling or firing machine guns or assault weapons. The law prohibits persons from giving or transferring machine guns to youths "in target shooting, at a firing or shooting range, or for any other purpose."

Connecticut lawmakers said the ban clarifies what had previously been an unclear law regarding children and machine gun use.

"The tragedy that occurred in Massachusetts in October should be a wake-up call for Connecticut," said state Sen. Martin Looney, D-New Haven, the Senate majority leader, earlier this year. "This legislation will leave no doubt that Connecticut will protect its youth from this obvious danger."

'No lawful authority'

In the weeks following Christopher's death, Massachusetts Rep. Michael Costello, D-Newburyport, co-chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, said he would support a ban on anyone under 21 firing automatic weapons. Costello and others called for new laws to regulate machine gun use at gun clubs, which state public safety officials say have gone largely unregulated.

Costello could not be reached for comment for this story. However, new regulations prohibiting machine gun use and measures for gun clubs holding shooting events were proposed by the governor and public safety officials this year.

As it stands, Massachusetts law prohibits anyone from "furnishing" a machine gun or ammunition to any person under 18, and states that parents must give their consent to allow a child under the supervision of an instructor to shoot "a rifle or shotgun that is not a large-capacity weapon."

Hampden District Attorney William Bennett, lead prosecutor in the Westfield case, said he could find "no lawful authority which allows an 8-year-old to possess or fire a machine gun."

Nevertheless, at the time of Christopher's death, some expressed confusion over Massachusetts gun laws regarding who can fire machine guns and under what conditions, as well as the proper licensing and supervision required at firearms exhibitions.

"The gun laws in Massachusetts are so poorly written that no one can understand what they say," said James Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners' Action League (GOAL), which helped draft a gun reform bill now in the Legislature.

Bill's provisions

A wide-ranging gun reform bill before the Legislature titled "Act Relative to Civil Rights and Public Safety" - sponsored by Peterson and supported by GOAL - would prohibit anyone under 18 from handling or using a machine gun, and require those 18 and older to do so under the direct supervision of someone with a machine gun license, which few possess.

"It sounds reasonable to me," said state Rep. Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington, who co-sponsored the bill that has yet to have a hearing. In his view, the Westfield tragedy was largely the result of a lack of supervision and controls.

Others say the state's current gun laws are not so obscure and that many were likely confused about the statutes largely because machine guns are exotic and rare.

Jan Dizard, a professor of American culture at Amherst College who has written on guns in America, believes this was a case of the law not being enforced. "I think the law is sufficient," he said. "I don't think there was much ambiguity."

Dizard, a hunter, said he understands the appeal of machine guns but, in his view, they should be regarded strictly as military weapons.

"If you're really interested in them, join the Army," Dizard said. "They have no use other than for combat."

He added, "I think the social value of these so-called (firearms) expos is nil to negative."

Regulating expos

This year, the Hanson Rod and Gun Club in Plymouth County canceled its annual machine gun shoot, a decision its board of directors says did not come easily.

"Due to legal questions pending before the courts here in Massachusetts, the club did not feel it prudent to put our community, spectators, vendors, or this organization into a situation where there was a potential for legal consequences," the board wrote on the gun club's Web site.

"Once these issues have been resolved in the courts, the club hopes to reschedule this most popular event and continue our 18-year unblemished record of safe operation. Our event has become recognized by many as setting the standard for safety for this type of event amongst the shooting community."

Apart from the Westfield expo, the Hanson club is the only other machine gun shoot in the state and has reportedly drawn more than 1,000 people in recent years. Interestingly, town leaders approved an unusual bylaw 10 years ago that bans anyone under 21 from firing a machine gun in Hanson, including soldiers returning from war.

The measure came after the local newspaper published photos of youths firing machine guns at the club's annual machine gun shoot, just three weeks after the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colo., which left 15 people dead.

Earlier this year, Gov. Deval Patrick proposed a gun reform bill that would restrict handling of machine guns to those with machine gun licenses and police officers in training. It called on the state secretary of public safety and security to promulgate new regulations for the prohibition of machine gun use at gun shows or exhibitions, and to narrow the definition of "bona fide collector."

The latter regulations would require any sporting or shooting club to hold valid club and ammunition licenses, and to provide adequate police details for events open to the general public or non-members, including skeet, target and trap shooting.

Clubs would be required to provide municipal police with certain information about the event, including a safety plan, a list of the types of weapons and ammunition used at events, the number of people expected to attend, whether youths will be admitted, the names of certified instructors and the ratio of those instructors to the general public.

Gun owners opposed

The firearms exhibition regulations got a public hearing this summer at the state police headquarters in Framingham, where there was overwhelming opposition from gun owners and clubs, among others. Many testified that the proposed regulations were heavy-handed and burdensome. Some opponents said the measures lacked an understanding of the firearms training gun clubs provide.

The regulations are being redrafted and remain under review, according to state public safety officials.

"Those were just ridiculous proposals," said Wallace, of the Gun Owners' Action League. "The irony isn't lost on us that the one time we had a tragedy, public safety officials were running the event."

"There were so many mistakes made that day that I could never see a civilian instructor making," he added. "I'll put the safety record of the fish and game clubs in this state against anything the state is involved with."

State public safety officials say they believe there were violations of state gun laws at the machine gun shoot in Westfield last year, which has prompted a need for tighter controls. They say the regulations are designed not to shut down lawful shooting, but to protect those who are untrained in the use of firearms, whether at a turkey shoot or a machine gun exhibition.

"We were of the position that the activity that was occurring at the (Westfield) event was prohibited," said Catherine P. Bailey, assistant general counsel at the state Office of Public Safety and Security.

"The death of the 8-year-old boy put into the spotlight that these events are going on pretty unregulated. People who have little to no experience with firearms have been able to attend these events, and in some instances use automatic weapons that they are not trained with."

State Rep. Peterson said that no matter what happens with his gun reform legislation, the state ought to put some law on the books regarding the use of machine guns when it comes to youths.

"I think we need to look at these types of operations, and I think it would be wise to look at an age limit as to who can fire them and use them," he said.

Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.