Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 940 CMR - OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL › Title 940 CMR 16.00 - Handgun Sales › Section 16.01 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
For purposes of
				940 CMR
				16.00, the following terms shall have the following
				meanings:
Average group diameter test result
: shall mean the
				arithmetic mean of three separate group diameter test results taken from a set
				distance.
Combination handle lock
: shall mean a device which
				precludes the use of the handgun unless the combination tumblers are properly
				aligned. This device may, for example, have the numbers for the combination
				tumblers protrude from the handle of the handgun.
Educational collector
: shall mean an individual
				who is properly licensed as a bonafide collector pursuant to 520 CMR 7.00, and
				whose collection is maintained for purposes of display, research, lecturing,
				demonstration, or historical significance, as opposed to being maintained for
				personal enjoyment and/or possible future profit.
Group diameter test result
: shall mean the largest
				spread in inches between the centers of any of the holes made in a test target
				after firing five rounds from the handgun in question at the target from a set
				distance. The ammunition used shall be the type recommended by the handgun
				manufacturer in its user manual, or if none is recommended, any standard
				ammunition of the correct caliber in new condition.
Hammer deactivation device
: shall mean a built-in
				device (or an extension of the hammer) which allows a user manually to lower
				the handgun's hammer into a deactivated position, and which must be manually
				re-toggled in order to re-cock the hammer before the handgun can be
				fired.
Handgun:
shall mean a weapon, designed to be fired
				by the use of a single hand, from which may be fired or ejected one or more
				solid projectiles propelled via a chemical ignition, and which has:
(a) a smooth bore with a barrel less than 18
			 inches long;
(b) a smooth bore and
			 an overall weapon length of less than 26 inches; or
(c) a rifled bore with a barrel less than 16
			 inches.
Handgun Drop Test:
shall mean a test in which the
				handgun in question shall be:
(a) test
			 loaded;
(b) set such that the
			 handgun is ready to fire; and
(c)
			 dropped onto a solid slab of concrete from a height of one meter from each of
			 the following positions:
1. normal firing
			 position,
2. upside down,
3. on grip,
4. on the muzzle,
5. on either side, and
6. on the exposed hammer or striker (or if
			 there is no exposed hammer or striker, then the rearmost part of the firearm).
In addition, if the handgun is designed so that its hammer or
				striker may be set in other positions, the handgun in question shall be tested
				with the hammer or striker in each such position (but otherwise ready to fire).
				Alternatively, the tester may use different handguns of the same make and
				model, in similar condition, for the test of each of these hammer/striker
				settings.
Handgun Performance Test
: shall mean a test in
				which the handgun in question shall fire 600 rounds, stopping every 100 rounds
				to tighten any loose screws and to clean the gun (if required by the cleaning
				schedule in the user manual), and as needed to refill the empty magazine or
				cylinder to capacity before continuing. For any handgun that loads other than
				via a detachable magazine, the tester shall also pause every 50 rounds for ten
				minutes. The ammunition used shall be the type recommended by the handgun
				manufacturer in its user manual, or if none is recommended, any standard
				ammunition of the correct caliber in new condition. A handgun shall pass this
				test if it:
(a) fires the first 20
			 rounds without a malfunction, and
(b) fires the full 600 rounds with no more
			 than six malfunctions and without any crack or breakage of an operating part of
			 the handgun which increases the danger of injury to the user.
Handgun-purveyor
: shall mean any person or entity
				that transfers handguns to a customer located within the Commonwealth of
				Massachusetts. However, handgun-purveyor shall not include any of the
				aforementioned if:
(a) the person or
			 entity transfers less than five handguns per year,
(b) the transfer in question is for the
			 purpose of, and does, directly or indirectly, supply law enforcement officials
			 or United States military personnel with handguns for their official
			 duties,
(c) the transfer in
			 question is for the purpose of, and does, directly or indirectly, supply
			 museums or educational collectors with the handguns in question,
(d) the transfer in question is undertaken
			 to, and does, result in the surrender of handguns to military or law
			 enforcement personnel,
(e) the
			 transfer in question is of handguns that qualify as antique firearms as defined
			 in 18 U.S.C. § 921, or
(f) the
			 transfer in question is of handguns that are solely designed and sold
			 specifically for formal target shooting competition.
Key activated trigger lock:
shall mean a device
				that when locked in place by means of a key, prevents a potential user from
				pulling the trigger of the handgun without first removing the trigger lock by
				use of the trigger lock's key.
Load indicator
: shall mean a device which plainly
				indicates that a cartridge is in the firing chamber within the handgun.
Magazine safety disconnect
: shall mean a device
				that prevents the firing of the handgun when the magazine is detached from the
				handgun.
Make and model
: shall mean any group of handguns,
				all of which are made by a manufacturer by the same method and according to the
				same design pattern and specifications.
Make and Model Performance Requirements:
shall
				mean a test in which three handguns in new condition of the make and model
				being tested shall each pass the Handgun Performance Test.
Make and Model's Average Group Diameter Test
				Result
: shall mean the arithmetic mean of the results of three Average
				Group Diameter Tests, each performed on a different handgun in new condition of
				the make and model being tested.
Malfunction
: shall mean any failure to feed,
				chamber, fire, extract, or eject a round, or any failure to accept or eject a
				magazine, or any other failure which prevents the handgun, without manual
				intervention beyond that needed for routine firing and periodic reloading, from
				firing the chambered round or moving a new round into position so that the
				handgun is capable of firing the new round properly. Malfunction shall not
				include a misfire caused by a faulty cartridge whose primer fails to detonate
				when properly hit by the handgun's firing mechanism.
Passive use-limitation device
: shall mean a device
				that automatically resets itself so that an unauthorized user cannot fire the
				handgun. As an example, a key activated trigger lock is not a passive
				use-limitation device because it needs to be re-locked manually after its key
				is used to unlock it; thus the next user can fire the handgun without having to
				unlock the handgun.
Prone to accidental discharge
: shall mean unable
				to pass the following test: five handguns in new condition of the make and
				model in question shall each be subjected to, and none shall discharge during,
				the Handgun Drop Test.
Ready to fire
: shall mean loaded, and in a
				condition such that pulling the trigger (and taking any action that must
				simultaneously accompany the pulling of the trigger as part of the firing
				procedure) will fire the handgun.
Serial number
: shall mean the number stamped,
				inscribed, or placed upon a handgun by a handgun-purveyor pursuant to M.G.L. c.
				269, § 11E.
Solenoid use-limitation device
: shall mean a
				device which precludes, by use of a magnetically activated relay, the firing of
				the handgun unless a magnet of the appropriate strength is placed in proximity
				to the handle of the handgun. Such magnet may be imbedded in a ring which can
				be worn on the user's gun hand.
Test loaded
: shall mean loading each chamber of
				the handgun in question with an empty case with a primer installed.
Transfer
: shall mean sell, rent, or lease.
				Transfer shall not include a sale to a business entity that is primarily a
				firearm wholesaler, so long as the sale, by its terms, prohibits the purchaser
				from reselling the handgun to a handgun retailer or consumer in the
				Commonwealth.