Opinion ID: 199885
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Criminal Provisions

Text: 15 Both before and after the Act, anyone who knowingly possessed weapons without proper state licensing could be punished by imprisonment. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 10(a) (1997). The Act provided for a specific term of punishment for knowing unlicensed possession of a large capacity weapon: between two-and-a-half and ten years in prison. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10(m). The Act also increased existing penalties for firearms dealers who sell weapons to persons who do not have the license necessary to possess such weapons. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10F. 16 The Act also amended existing restrictions on the selling or furnishing of weapons to persons under a certain age. Massachusetts law prohibits selling or furnishing a rifle or shotgun to anyone under the age of 18, and prohibits selling or furnishing a firearm or large capacity weapon to anyone under 21 years of age. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 130. The Act updated the furnishing statute so that it would reflect the new three-tier licensing scheme. Id. It also increased the penalties for selling or furnishing such weapons to underage individuals. Id.