Source: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-law-about-guns-and-other-weapons
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 00:58:37+00:00

Document:
A compilation of laws, regulations, cases, and web sources on weapons law.
Law allows, but regulates, possessing stun guns.
St.2014, c.284 An act relative to the reduction of gun violence.
§ 121 Definitions of firearm types.
§§122C, 122D People over 18 can have pepper spray, mace or other "self defense spray" without an FID card. There are limits, so read the following law carefully.
§ 122D Who may not purchase or possess pepper spray.
§§ 131R-131Z, as added by St.2018, c.123 Red flag law.
Provides a process for family and household members to ask the court to temporarily take weapons from people who pose a risk to themselves or others. This is called an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO).
MGL c.269, § 10 Carrying dangerous weapons; possession of machine gun or sawed-off shotguns; possession of large capacity weapon or large capacity feeding device; punishment. Subsection (j) prohibits carrying a weapon on school or university grounds.
MGL c.276, § 58A(1) "The commonwealth may move, based on dangerousness, for an order of pretrial detention...[for a person] arrested and charged with a violation of paragraph (a), (c), or (m) of section 10 of chapter 269 [illegal weapons]."
18 USC § 922(g)(3) prohibits any person who is an "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802))" from shipping, transporting, receiving or having firearms or ammunition.
State laws and published ordinances-firearms, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
"This publication is designed to help Federal firearms licensees (FFL) comply with Federal and State firearms laws; specifically, with the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA)."
Question 11.e says: Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.
Includes information about firearms licenses, sales, and transfers, appealing a firearms license denial, approved firearms rosters, and firearms laws for the state.
Sample complaint for judicial review, 18 Am. Jur. Pl.& Pr. Forms Municipal Corporations, Counties, Etc. § 46. Available through our Document Delivery Service.
Caetano v. Massachusetts, 577 US __ , 136 S. Ct. 1027(2016).
The US Supreme Court held that the reasoning of the SJC in Comm. v. Caetano, 470 Mass. 774 (2015), in ruling that the Second Amendment didn’t apply to stun guns was incorrect. The US Supreme Court sent the case back to Massachusetts. The case didn’t rule the Massachusetts law, MGL c. 140, § 131J, unconstitutional.
Chardin v. Boston Police Commissioner, 465 Mass. 314 (2013).
Massachusetts firearms licensing statute "does not infringe on a right protected by the Second Amendment."
Large capacity. "[T]o sustain a conviction under G. L. c. 269, § 10 (m), the Commonwealth must prove that a defendant either knew the firearm or feeding device met the legal definition of "large capacity" or knew it was capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition." Provides a model jury instruction in the appendix.
A dog can be a dangerous weapon. "A dangerous weapon is 'any instrument or instrumentality so constructed or so used as to be likely to produce death or great bodily harm.' Commonwealth v. Farrell, 322 Mass. 606, 614-615 (1948). See also Anderson, Wharton's Criminal Law and Procedure, § 361. There can be little doubt that a dog . . . used for the purpose of intimidation or attack falls within this definition."
Provides detailed definitions of "dirk knife" and "dagger."
Court held that "because [the gun storage law, G.L. c.140,] § 131L (a) is consistent with the right to bear arms in self-defense in one's home and is designed to prevent those who are not licensed to possess or carry firearms from gaining access to firearms, it falls outside the scope of the Second Amendment."
Trigger locks or locked containers can be required. The Second Amendment isn't incorporated under the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of substantive due process and therefore doesn't apply to the States. Further, the General Laws c. 140, § 131L (a) can be distinguished from the law ruled unconstitutional in Heller, because "an individual with a valid firearms identification card issued under G. L. c. 140, § 129C, is not obliged to secure or render inoperable a firearm while the individual carries it or while it remains otherwise under the individual's control...; the statute therefore does not make it impossible for those persons licensed to possess firearms to rely on them for lawful self-defense."
A starter pistol that doesn’t have a barrel plug or obstruction in the cylinder that would stop a projectile from passing through the barrel is a firearm.
"The judge's finding that the defendant was guilty of carrying a loaded firearm while under the influence of intoxicating liquor was not inconsistent with the judge's finding that the defendant was not guilty of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor...A condition of probation requiring a criminal defendant to surrender his firearms during the term of his probation did not violate the defendant's constitutional right to bear arms."
"[T]he Massachusetts firearms regulatory regime as applied to [lawful permanent resident aliens], contravenes the Second Amendment." Judgment entered "enjoining denial of firearm licenses and permits to [plaintiffs] solely on the basis of their permanent resident alien status."
"A decision...to revoke the plaintiff's license to carry a firearm was arbitrary and capricious." "Discussion of the standard of review of the decision to revoke a license to carry a firearm, of the standard to be used by a firearm licensing authority when determining whether to issue a firearm license with restrictions, and of the statutory scheme for firearm licensure."
"This court concluded that stun guns are "arms" within the protection of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and that...barring all civilians from possessing or carrying stun guns, even in their home, was inconsistent with the Second Amendment and therefore unconstitutional."
If your firearms license was denied, you can appeal the denial at the District Court or in some cases, you can petition the Firearm Licensing Review Board.
Links to both the Approved firearms roster and the Large capacity firearms roster.
Explains criteria for getting a gun permit in Massachusetts.
Federal firearms regulations reference guide, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 2014.
"Many states and localities have laws governing the transportation of firearms. Travelers must be aware of these laws and comply with legal requirements in each jurisdiction. There is no uniform state transportation procedure for firearms." Provides links to state and federal laws.
Gun ownership in Massachusetts, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Massachusetts residents 15 years and older who want to possess, carry, and transport firearms, ammunition, and feeding devices are required to have a firearms license. Firearms licenses are issued by municipal police departments.
Law bars most immigrants from carrying self-defense spray, CommonWealth Magazine, February 2019.
"The penalty is imprisonment for up to two years and a fine of not more than $1,000. The only immigrants exempted from the penalty are green card holders and those who have been victims of domestic violence."
Lots of uncertainty as Mass. bump stock ban takes effect Feb. 1, New England Public Radio, January 29, 2018.
Discusses a letter sent to state firearm permit holders asking them to turn in any bump stocks they may have.
Explains the state's extremely limited crossbow access law (MGL c.131, § 69) with link to the permit application form.
Public safety notice: 3D-printed guns, Mass. Attorney General, August 9, 2018.
"The creation, transfer, or possession of a weapon made with a 3D printer can subject an individual to serious criminal or civil liability under Massachusetts law."
Suitability challenged: the judicial creation of suitability standards for firearms licensing, Mass. Bar Association, Lawyers Journal, June 2014.
Discusses the “suitable person” standard for getting a firearms license under MGL c.140, § 131(d), (f).
Transporting firearms and ammunition, TSA.
Explains requirements for transporting firearms on planes.
Firearms in self defense: the Castle Doctrine, stand your ground and other considerations, NBA, 2015.
Handbook of civil procedure in the District Court, 5th ed., Lawyers Weekly, with supplement.
Massachusetts firearm user’s manual 2017: a comprehensive guide to the use, possession and storage of firearms, rifles, shotguns, ammunition and related laws. William M. Cloran.
Practice in the firearms sessions, MCLE, 2017.
The traveler's gun and knife law book: the essential resource for travelers, hunters and concealed-carry permit holders: Covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Spartan Press, 2012.

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§ 122
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 § 361
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