I don't expect one cop in 100 to be able to pick up on that detail in MGL, which is why I tell everyone I know to have the gun in a locked, hardsided case that's kept out of sight when transporting in Mass.
GFSZ doesn't apply to people on private property unrelated to the school.
Sorry, I see NO NEED for "hardsided" cases. I have them and they take up tons of space in Honda's trunk. Much prefer my soft cases and as long as they are locked they are in COMPLIANCE (uber compliance in a trunk, but my point stands for an SUV/truck too)!! Yes, after the recent case (locked case in cooler) there are some cops that want to see a trigger lock, then locked in a hard case, then locked in a bolted-down safe! That just isn't in the law . . . period! As has been pointed out, the law is not an anti-theft law, it is to keep someone from picking it up and shooting it IMMEDIATELY! All locks, boxes, hard cases, etc. can be defeated with simple tools and a bit of time.
I keep telling people if Glidden takes 450 pgs to explain MA gun laws, don't expect any street cop to be reading and understanding it! There are a lot more laws that officers have to deal with and they can't be expected to be walking encyclopedias on all things.
My John Scheft law text has eight--that's right, 8--pages of tables trying to make some sense of the MA gun laws. I concentrate on the biggie offenses--as far as transport, many cops I know don't even bother because it's so damn complicated. Plus, why screw with a gun owner whose TRYING to do the right thing, but because his legislators have written a law that God Himself couldn't make sense of has failed b/c of some minor, unintentional oversight?
They're as complicated for us cops as they are for everyone else, which is one of the many reasons I wholly support H.2259.
I'd really like to see what John wrote on the subject. I've never seen his work in cop shops, only those by other authors (Collins, Whelan, etc.). I rarely stop in on AAA Police Supply, but I am sometimes in their area (and Mark is a member at MF&G).
Yup, if you aren't familiar with a particular gun, it's easy NOT to know if it is large capacity or not. There are probably plenty of long guns out there that I'd have no idea w/o doing some research on that particular model. Now think of the disadvantage a cop has on the street trying to make that determination!
Now with all that said, some TV station just showed an "arsenal" that Boston PD picked up . . . guy & gal had 4 "rifles" (one is a 12 ga "rifle"
), ammo, $21K in cash and drugs. Since they were in an apt across the street from a school and a daycare center, the reporter (?) announced that they were being charged with being within 1000' of a school (implying the guns, but reality is probably dealing drugs), possession without an FID, etc. I tried finding it on the Web and no luck, sorry.