Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an emergency preamble to a gun reform bill passed this summer, a move that prevents the law from being suspended while opponents work on a ballot measure to put before voters in two years.

The law addresses, among other things, ghost guns and red flag laws.

“We needed to give time to our agencies and municipalities to take the steps and do what they need to do in order to get ready for implementation on Day One,” Healey said Wednesday.

Critics say that doesn’t tell the whole story.

“Jobs will suffer, people’s lives will suffer, because of this action she is taking today,” said spokesman Toby Leary of Civil Rights Coalition, a group calling for the gun law’s repeal.

Gun advocates collected thousands of signatures in recent weeks hoping to push pause on the bill until voters could weigh in with a 2026 ballot question.

“Now, she’s saying, ‘Nope, we’re not going to allow that process to happen,’” said Leary. “‘You can still put it to a vote in two years, but you’re going to live with the law we signed,’ and I feel that is a subversion of the Constitution.”

Healey and others balk at that framing.

Gov. Maura Healey held a ceremonial signing for Massachusetts’ new gun reform bill that bans Glock switches and more, bringing praise from advocates, though the National Rifle Association said it plans to challenge the legislation.

“The system is there, it’s a democracy, you can go to your legislature and you can advocate for policy and advocate for laws,” Healey said. “That’s the way the system works.”

“The vast majority of Massachusetts residents wants this bill and want it to take effect as soon as possible,” said Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka.

As for opponents of the bill, attention now turns to the courts.

“It’s all reaching a crescendo, and we’re tired of being the whipping post,” said Leary.

For some, cannabis cafes are long-overdue recreational spots for like-minded adults to gather to smoke weed. Others see the cafes as just another way to funnel intoxicated drivers onto the state’s highways.

For more than seven years, state regulators have been trying to find the best way to allow cannabis consumption sites, including cannabis cafes, to open in Massachusetts. The Cannabis Control Commission considered a 12-community pilot program but decided against the approach last year.

State House News Service reported, “Regulators hope to present their latest framework for rules that will govern establishments where adults could use marijuana together in a social setting before the end of this year, more than seven years since the Cannabis Control Commission started wrestling with the issue.”

SHNS said the CCC plans to consult with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and “other key stakeholders.”

Massachusetts voters approved a ballot initiative in 2016 legalizing adult-use marijuana and the establishment of so-called cannabis cafes. Some liken the cafe concept to a barroom.

The CCC is considering a $500,000 public awareness campaign, training for consumption site employees, and municipal outreach.

Marijuana consumption lounges are legal in 14 states, including Massachusetts. Cannabis Creative said Massachusetts is the only state out of the 14 that has not  “established a plan to implement it.”

Statista.com said Massachusetts is among the states with the highest percentage of adult marijuana users at 29.74 percent. Only Vermont, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Alaska and Washington had higher percentages than Massachusetts.