Attorney General Maura Healey’s broad reinterpretation of the Massachusetts assault weapons ban represents a gross overreach of authority and a grave threat to the liberty of the residents of the Commonwealth (“Closing the loophole,’’ Opinion, July 20). Healey’s directive to gun manufacturers and dealers is tantamount to new legislation, and it was submitted with under 24 hours’ notice, no hearing, and no vote. This is not democracy; this is railroading and political theater.

Should the attorney general wish to move legislation through the official processes, it would afford gun owners an opportunity to defend themselves and their rights in a public forum. She has sought to justify her broad overreach by appealing to the so-called morality of her decision. Yet between 2007 and 2014, of a total of 1,301 murders in Massachusetts in which a weapon was used, only seven were by rifle, according to the FBI.

I fear that in the pursuit of morality, we have lost sight of our constitutional and legal obligations. I am leaving this week for St. Louis for business school. I do not anticipate returning.

Jonathan Argov, Brookline