Do You Have To Register Firearms In Massachusetts

xx Nov The Top V Myths About Owning a Gun in Massachusetts

Posted at 09:00h in Blog 105 Comments

Time to Articulate Up Some Misconceptions…

When we teach our MA Firearms Safety Courses we get the pleasure of hearing quite a few interesting opinions on what you can and cannot do with a gun in Massachusetts. Some are valid… others, not so much.

So… We decided to compile the Top Five Myths About Owning a Gun in Massachusetts!

Myth #one: You Have to Shop Your Gun and Ammo Separately in Your Domicile

I ask every single class this question: Tin you exit a loaded handgun in a condom? We usually get a varied range of responses, with some folks suggesting that you keep your ammo and gun separate even when locked in a secure container. I attribute this to a processing error when people read that "a firearm must be secured with a trigger lock or cablevision lock device, or in a safe or locked container" every bit people tend to tune out once they think that they have read the consummate sentence.

No… you don't have to lock your gun upward after you lot disassemble it, accept your ammo to your neighbor's house, and hibernate your firing pivot. Just stage your gun for its intended purpose. My home defence pistols are staged just for that. Loaded in condition 1 and staged for home defense.

Myth #two: If Y'all Defend Yourself With Your Firearm You WILL Get Arrested.

I'm going to put this one as "depends." There are a lot of factors that come in to play when you defend yourself with a firearm. Outset and foremost, you accept to know the laws that arespecific to your state. For case if you say Castle Doctrine in Texas, information technology means a completely different thing than it does in Massachusetts.

The bottom line is you lot have to educate yourself on the appropriate employ of force rules for your state. The best way to exercise that is to take a Employ of Force course such equally our Apply of Force | Home Defence | Concealed Conduct Class which will teach you all you need to know about using lethal force to protect yourself and your loved ones. Call up: your goals should exist staying live, and staying out of jail.

Myth #3: Police Chiefs Can Deny Anyone a License to Conduct for Any Reason… and there's nix you lot can exercise about it.

Nope. Since the changes in 2014 to the firearms laws in MA you now accept a right of appeal at theDistrict Courtroom level.This is large as prior to the changes in the laws, you were stuck in the ruby tape of the Firearms Tape Bureau and the whole process was a mess. You volition either be issued or denied a license within xl days. If you are denied, you then have 90 days to appeal the denial in the District Court. In guild for the Commune court to uphold the denial it must exist institute that:

(A) reliable, articulable, and credible information that the applicant has exhibited or engaged in beliefs to suggest the applicant could potentially create a risk to public safety; or

"(B) existing factors that suggest that the applicant could potentially create a adventure to public safety.

This is practiced as it FINALLY puts a standard brunt of proof on what supports the denial. This certainly makes owning a gun in Massachusetts a bit easier. More than information tin be establish at GOAL.org's License Denial Page.

Myth #4: Yous Can't Open Carry in Massachusetts. E'er. Period. End of Story.

Nope again. In fact, in 2013 the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts actually ruled in our favor in the case of FRB five. Simkin. In this example Mr. Simkin was at a medical appointment during which one of the technicians became scared of his lawfully carried firearm, which he disclosed prior to disrobing. Bank check out what the SJC said:

…we suspect that the average Massachusetts resident may become "alarmed" on learning that someone other than a police enforcement officer is carrying concealed weapons in his or her presence. Yet, Simkin is not responsible for alarm acquired to others by his mere carrying of concealed weapons pursuant to a license permitting him to do exactly that. Although the agency claims that Simkin "went out of his manner to evidence and inform certain staff members that he was ․ armed," the tape indicates otherwise. Simkin concealed his weapons until he was in the examination room and was about to disrobe, at which time he notified the medical assistant that he was carrying concealed weapons and was going to secure them, presumably so that she would not exist alarmed. Further, he had disclosed the fact that he was armed immediately prior to disrobing during a previous visit to the aforementioned medical office, admitting to a unlike practitioner, and had received no objection to his behavior either during or after the visit. – Come across more than at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ma-supreme-judicial-court/1641408.html

While information technology is non prudent to openly comport a firearm in Massachusetts, or anywhere you lot can lawfully muffle it for that affair, you lot certainly can.

That being said… conceal your shootin' irons. Please. It will scare the sheep otherwise.

Myth #5: You Tin can't Purchase Ammunition Online and Accept it Sent To Massachusetts.

Ha…. My UPS and Fedex commitment drivers will tell you lot differently based on the corporeality of ordnance that shows up at my door on the regular.

Repeat afterward me: In that location is no police that prohibits buying ammo online and having it sent to a duly licensed person in Massachusetts.

Some vendors have made the decision not to sell to persons in Massachusetts due to previous Attorneys General bringing suits against them for selling the ammo to MA residents. Which was bovine excrement. To my noesis this hasn't happened recently.

Do your research and find out which companies ship to MA.

Do you lot have any other myths yous desire debunked? Leave them in the annotate box and let united states of america know!

Robert Curran

rob@tacdynamics.com

Rob is co-owner of Tactical Dynamics Firearms Training and is a USMC veteran and active Police force Enforcement Officer. Rob is a Sig Sauer Master Rated Firearms Instructor and holds several other ratings from various institutions.