A few questions regarding licensing.

[ping]

Can anyone here answer any of these questions for me:

1) Can you appeal after 40 days if you have not received anything that said you were denied your license?

2) What is the approximate cost to appeal the license?

3) If you appeal it and win who now becomes the licensing authority and who decides what type of license you will now be issued , as in does it just go back to the Chief and he now decides what type of license he now has to issue?

Thanks for any info.

 

[cekim]

Can anyone here answer any of these questions for me:

1) Can you appeal after 40 days if you have not received anything that said you were denied your license?

2) What is the approximate cost to appeal the license?

3) If you appeal it and win who now becomes the licensing authority and who decides what type of license you will now be issued , as in does it just go back to the Chief and he now decides what type of license he now has to issue?

Thanks for any info.

Recognizing this process can be very frustrating, how long as it been? Have you contacted the PD to ask (politely) about the status of your license?

If you are going to make an enemy of your "may issue" CLEO with lawyers and appeals, you should at least irritate them over the phone first.

IIRC, you appeal and a judge overturns the denial and essentially sends the decision back to your CLEO, but with specific orders/guidance to either issue or come up with a much better reason to deny...

MA has been horrendous with holding to the 40 day limit - it is routine that this process takes 5-10 (or more) weeks so far as I have observed. Part of that is the local PD not making processing these a priority (i.e. they batch them up), part of that is the CHSB's various hiccups of the last few months...

 

[ping]

It has been 10 weeks. I have called and emailed the Licensing Officer once a week after the 6 week mark and have got no reply. I have also emailed the Chief and he replied but he only said he was going to forward my email to the Licensing Officer. No reply. I went down to the station twice in the last two weeks and was told both times he was not available to see me. I feel I am getting jerked around and I do not know what I should do next.

 

[pjorg]

I'm by no means an expert, but, I recently completed this process and as such am reasonably familiar with a lot of the posts on this subject.

First of all, 40 days is technically the maximum allowable time and if you haven't heard with that period, you can technically interpret that as a denial for the purposes of appeal. However, as cekim mentioned above, the practical implications of this are such that you are unlikely to improve your situation in most cases by filing an appeal.

On the other hand, 10 weeks is a long time. Sounds like you've made good-faith attempts to contact the licensing officer and s/he doesn't care or is completely overwhelmed.

My impression is that you're better off continuing to inquire politely, and contacting the CLEO again after a reasonable amount of time has elapsed since you last reached out to him (if that hasn't already happened).

If you're ready to bring out the big guns, there are plenty of lawyers on this site that can help.

Sorry. It sucks.

 

[cekim]

It has been 10 weeks. I have called and emailed the Licensing Officer once a week after the 6 week mark and have got no reply. I have also emailed the Chief and he replied but he only said he was going to forward my email to the Licensing Officer. No reply. I went down to the station twice in the last two weeks and was told both times he was not available to see me. I feel I am getting jerked around and I do not know what I should do next.

Sadly, others have seen worse...

Town? Have you reviewed the thread on licensing in your town?

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...uide-to-gun-rights-in-your-Massachusetts-town

You should be aware that there have been instances of denials (though overturned on appeal) based on being "impatient with the licensing process" in posts on-line...

Obviously the system in MA is in many ways at odds with our Constitutional and civil rights - there are efforts underway to correct this, but in the mean time, the deck is stacked against you unless you have or can develop political connections. Know anyone in town/city government? Make friends .

Pick your battles. Recognize you are not alone. Understand the rules of the game.

 

[drgrant]

It has been 10 weeks. I have called and emailed the Licensing Officer once a week after the 6 week mark and have got no reply. I have also emailed the Chief and he replied but he only said he was going to forward my email to the Licensing Officer. No reply. I went down to the station twice in the last two weeks and was told both times he was not available to see me. I feel I am getting jerked around and I do not know what I should do next.

Get your local state rep or state senator to "inquire on your behalf". Sometimes this works wonders. If they can't get the PD to move, then you should probably talk to someone like Jesse Cohen (jcohen) about what the next step would be...

-Mike

 

[Kevlar]

Before commencing an appeal, contact your State Rep and/or State Sen. Ask him/her call the Chief and inquire as to the status of your application.

ETA: Mike beat me to it.

 

[cekim]

Get your local state rep or state senator to "inquire on your behalf". Sometimes this works wonders. If they can't get the PD to move, then you should probably talk to someone like Jesse Cohen (jcohen) about what the next step would be...

This...

That's what I mean by "make friends"... Found out who your local and state elected officials are and get in touch. It wouldn't be a bad idea to remember the old saying that "you can catch more flies with honey..."

Try to avoid casting yourself as a ranting lunatic...

I try to apply the boyscout approach to dealing with politicians - expect the best, prepare for the worst.

 

[ping]

Yeah I understand that there have been denials due to impatience but I do not feel one email and one phone call a week is being impatient. It costs $200 (safety course and application fee) initially here so I should at least get the courtesy of a reply as to the status of my license. I have been shooting and carrying concealed since 1993 in the other states I have lived in(Vermont, Oklahoma, Florida). I had no problem whatsoever in the latter two states attaining my CCW and in both cases had it within three weeks. If it is going to take 10 weeks plus I should at least be told it is going to take that long.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

My town is a red town and they quote 90 days for a renewal and only let you renew 30 days before expiration.

Bob

 

[cekim]

If it is going to take 10 weeks plus I should at least be told it is going to take that long.

To those of us who have lived in other states and/or hold licenses in other states - the state of affairs in this state is quite simply disgusting...

I do expect this to change in the future as MacDonald and its wake work its way through the courts, but it won't be fast.

In the mean time, see above.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

1) Can you appeal after 40 days if you have not received anything that said you were denied your license?

Yes. The law considers this a denial - but it not always strategically wise to do so.

2) What is the approximate cost to appeal the license?

In ballpack figures - $0 to $300 for an office consult; a grand if the attorney negotiates and makes calls on your behalf but does not appear in court; $3K and up for a court appearance. These are ballpark numbers and may vary considerably depending on individual circumstances.

3) If you appeal it and win who now becomes the licensing authority and who decides what type of license you will now be issued , as in does it just go back to the Chief and he now decides what type of license he now has to issue?

If you win, the judge will order the authority to issue you a license. That order may or may not specify what type of restrictions, if any, are to be placed on the license. While not totally unheard of, it is very very rare for a MA judge to include "without restrictions" in an order to issue a license.

 

[antdfsc]

Is the 40 days people always reference an official, on the books law? or is it just more of an accepted practice? Also is it 40 days, or 40 Business Days? There is a difference between 5 weeks and 8. I am in the process of waiting for my permit as well. I was told 8 weeks when I applied the first week of August, and given a date to call If I hadn't heard from them. I can be more understanding of a wait when given a specific time frame, if its open ended it definitely makes waiting harder. My avatar is an homage to that, my favorite part of the episode is the time Homer spends waiting for his gun, and that was only 5 Days!

 

[Kevlar]

Homer: Five days...but I'm mad now.



The 40 days is codified...

M.G.L. c.140 s.131(e)

The licensing authority shall, within 40 days from the date of application, either approve the application and issue the license or deny the application and notify the applicant of the reason for such denial in writing;

 

[greycar]

Question was asked at an NRA Personal Protection course about why it takes longer than forty days to get a license:

The Licensing Officer of Lawrence PD said (in reference to the 40 day time
period for approving/denying a license): "What's the matter with those people
(meaning the state reps/senators who passed the law)? ... Don't they know I get
six weeks vacation?".

GC

 

[KMaurer]

Why does a dog lick his balls?


Because he can.


Why does your local PD take longer than the statutory maximum time to issue your license?


...


Ken