LAKEVILLE – A sweeping gun control bill, the immigration crisis and other hot topics were discussed during the Cranberry Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Lunch on Friday, Nov. 17.

The legislative luncheon is “one of our main events and it’s always very well attended,” said Cranberry Chamber of Commerce Business Manager Pam Dziura. “Those who attended will walk away being more educated about what’s going on in the state and in our communities.”

The lunch was attended by 12th Bristol District Representative Norman Orrall (R-Lakeville), 1st Bristol and Plymouth District Senator Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport), 3rd Bristol and Plymouth District Senator Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton) and 2nd Plymouth District Representative Susan Gifford (R-Wareham).

Cruz, Orrall, Rodrigues, Pacheco, and Gifford participated in a question and answer discussion where they talked about transportation, gun regulation and immigration.

Orrall said that transportation issues in Massachusetts came down to a matter of “capacity” and “conditions.”

Massachusetts transportation infrastructure is aging and needs to be replaced, which affects the “conditions” and thus the reliability of the infrastructure, he said. In addition, he said more residents are using the transportation system, but the “capacity,” or the number of people the system can accommodate, has not increased.

“There’s more and more jobs that are high paying … in the metropolitan area, which leads to capacity issues,” Orral said.

All five of the panel members said that they opposed a sweeping proposed house bill that would expand Massachusetts gun control rules. 

The bill defines and redefines many terms related to firearms, including what qualifies as an “assault-style” weapon or a large magazine. The bill also contains provisions that would aim to restrict the availability of “ghost guns,” and it contains a provision to require gun owners to have permission from private property owners before bringing guns onto private property.

Pacheco said Massachusetts has “some of the most stringent laws and regulations in the nation,” and the proposed house bill did not have the support of police officers.

“I cannot see the Legislature passing any proposal that does not have the support of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association,” Pacheco said.

The immigration crisis that has resulted in many Massachusetts cities and towns housing migrants in hotels was also discussed at the lunch. Pacheco said that federal immigration laws were out of date.

“The vast majority of the migrants seeking asylum are here in the United States legally as a matter of federal law,” Pacheco said. “Our migrant crisis is a direct result of an outdated federal immigration system that has not been comprehensively addressed since 1986 and is in desperate need of reform.”

However, the possibility that the immigration crisis might prove helpful to businesses facing worker shortages was also discussed at the lunch. Pacheco said immigration could be an opportunity to hire new workers. 

“Every sector is looking for workers,” Pacheco said.