http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081005/NEWS/810050334
1 in 20 Cape residents licensed for firearms
By George Brennan
[email protected]
October 05, 2008 6:00 AM
There are 13,500 people, 5 percent of the total population of the Cape and the Islands, licensed to carry anything from a hunting rifle to a .357 magnum, according to state records.
Tiny Chilmark has the highest percentage of licensed gun owners at 13 percent. And Barnstable may have the highest number of firearms licenses, but its percentage is below the region's average of 5 percent, state records indicate.
Public safety officials are careful to point out that the number of licenses doesn't translate to the number of guns.
"Someone could have a firearm license and not own a gun," said Georgia Critsley, general counsel for the state's Criminal History Systems Board, the state agency that compiles the data.
And that same person with a license could have more than one firearm, Cristley said.
Guns do not have to be registered in Massachusetts, but dealers do have to log the sale of guns with the state. Those records are not public, Cristley said.
Overall, 237,277 of the state's 6.4 million residents are licensed gun owners — just under 4 percent of the population.
That figure has dropped dramatically from the 1.5 million who were licensed before tougher gun laws were approved in the summer of 1998. The reason for that drop depends on who you ask.
James Wallace, director of the Northboro-based Gun Owners Action League, a group that lobbies against further gun restrictions, said the state's gun laws have made it more difficult for people to be lawful gun owners.
For example, he said a misdemeanor conviction for a bar fight as a young adult would preclude that person from getting a license to carry.
"Some who had licenses for 30 to 40 years were disqualified because they punched someone in the nose 30 years ago," Wallace said. "They didn't go after the criminals. They went after us."
John Rosenthal, director of Stop Handgun Violence, a Natick-based group that pushed for the tougher state laws, said the drop in licenses is because firearms licenses were previously issued for life, he said. Licenses are issued for four years and must be renewed.
"The gun lobby says the tough gun laws are so strict that 1.2 million gave up licenses," said Rosenthal, who points out that he has a firearms identification card because he likes to hunt. "That's not true. A lot of those people have died or moved."
Or been caught off guard. Peter Manso, the Truro author who is writing about the murder trial of Christopher McCowen, is accused of having several guns without proper licenses. As part of his defense, Manso is saying that he was never told that his license had expired.
"I have been snared on a series of technicalities, which basically came down to the fact that I, like another three-quarters of a million people, failed to renew a gun permit, which I didn't know needed to be renewed because I was never notified," Manso told the Times Wednesday.
The proof that Massachusetts gun laws are working is in the number of firearms-related deaths — at 3.4 per 100,000 people, Rosenthal said. Only Hawaii has fewer deaths caused by guns, he said.
There are three types of gun licenses issued by the state: Class A, Class B and firearms identification (FID) cards. Each allows the holder the ability to carry or possess only certain types of firearms. There is also a restricted FID card that allows a person to carry mace or pepper spray.
The licenses are issued at the discretion of local chiefs of police, but the law offers little wiggle room, said Falmouth Police Chief Anthony Riello.
"It's a necessary responsibility," said Riello, who serves as president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. "Having the local authority is important. You may have information about someone who is trying to get a license. It's important to have that input."
Police departments do criminal history and mental health checks on applicants, Sandwich Police Chief Michael Miller said. Felonies, drug convictions and violent crimes automatically rule some applicants out, but the chiefs also have some discretion to keep others from getting licenses.
"The chief has a right to say someone is unsuitable, 'I'm not going to allow it,'" Miller said. The chief's decision can be appealed in court or to a state review board.
For example, someone who has been taken into protective custody a number of times for public drunkenness may not be a candidate for a license to carry, Miller said. Though it's not a crime to be taken into protective custody, the chief is allowed to consider suitability, he said.
"We've had some challenges, but we've never lost one," Miller said.
While the number of licenses issued by police departments is public, the list of owners is not. As part of the state's public records law, the identity of gun owners is protected.
The exemption "is to prevent individuals with devious motives from ascertaining the identities of those who possess firearms," Massachusetts public records law states.
The idea is to avoid giving criminals a road map to guns they might steal, Wallace said, or to make those who don't own guns a target.
That's an area where Wallace and Rosenthal, who has a firearms identification card, agree.
"I don't know that every member of the public needs to know who has a license, but it's appropriate for law enforcement to know," Rosenthal said.
There is a stigma attached to gun ownership in Massachusetts, Wallace said. Guns, even those used for hunting, must be in
an enclosed case on a public road.
"So you never see the doctor who lives next door or your neighbor the plumber putting a gun in the car to go pheasant hunting," Wallace said. "By law we're forced to hide who we are and that makes things worse."
But Rosenthal said gun violence is down, evidence that the strict laws are working. Things could be better if other states followed suit, he said.
"You need training and a license to drive an automobile that doesn't kill people. Why wouldn't there be reasonable restrictions for firearm ownership?"
Types of licenses
* Class A - Allows holder to possess and carry large capacity firearms, rifles, shotguns, and feeding devices (more than 10-round capacity); allows concealed carry of firearms.
* Class B - Allows holder to carry and possess rifles and shotguns (large capacity or not) and non-large capacity handguns (10 rounds or less); concealed carry not allowed
* Firearms Identification Cards (FID) - Allows holder to carry and possess rifles and shotguns that are not large capacity
* Restricted FID - Allows holder to carry pepper spray or mace
Source: Sandwich police firearms application process brochure
1 in 20 Cape residents licensed for firearms
By George Brennan
[email protected]
October 05, 2008 6:00 AM
There are 13,500 people, 5 percent of the total population of the Cape and the Islands, licensed to carry anything from a hunting rifle to a .357 magnum, according to state records.
Tiny Chilmark has the highest percentage of licensed gun owners at 13 percent. And Barnstable may have the highest number of firearms licenses, but its percentage is below the region's average of 5 percent, state records indicate.
Public safety officials are careful to point out that the number of licenses doesn't translate to the number of guns.
"Someone could have a firearm license and not own a gun," said Georgia Critsley, general counsel for the state's Criminal History Systems Board, the state agency that compiles the data.
And that same person with a license could have more than one firearm, Cristley said.
Guns do not have to be registered in Massachusetts, but dealers do have to log the sale of guns with the state. Those records are not public, Cristley said.
Overall, 237,277 of the state's 6.4 million residents are licensed gun owners — just under 4 percent of the population.
That figure has dropped dramatically from the 1.5 million who were licensed before tougher gun laws were approved in the summer of 1998. The reason for that drop depends on who you ask.
James Wallace, director of the Northboro-based Gun Owners Action League, a group that lobbies against further gun restrictions, said the state's gun laws have made it more difficult for people to be lawful gun owners.
For example, he said a misdemeanor conviction for a bar fight as a young adult would preclude that person from getting a license to carry.
"Some who had licenses for 30 to 40 years were disqualified because they punched someone in the nose 30 years ago," Wallace said. "They didn't go after the criminals. They went after us."
John Rosenthal, director of Stop Handgun Violence, a Natick-based group that pushed for the tougher state laws, said the drop in licenses is because firearms licenses were previously issued for life, he said. Licenses are issued for four years and must be renewed.
"The gun lobby says the tough gun laws are so strict that 1.2 million gave up licenses," said Rosenthal, who points out that he has a firearms identification card because he likes to hunt. "That's not true. A lot of those people have died or moved."
Or been caught off guard. Peter Manso, the Truro author who is writing about the murder trial of Christopher McCowen, is accused of having several guns without proper licenses. As part of his defense, Manso is saying that he was never told that his license had expired.
"I have been snared on a series of technicalities, which basically came down to the fact that I, like another three-quarters of a million people, failed to renew a gun permit, which I didn't know needed to be renewed because I was never notified," Manso told the Times Wednesday.
The proof that Massachusetts gun laws are working is in the number of firearms-related deaths — at 3.4 per 100,000 people, Rosenthal said. Only Hawaii has fewer deaths caused by guns, he said.
There are three types of gun licenses issued by the state: Class A, Class B and firearms identification (FID) cards. Each allows the holder the ability to carry or possess only certain types of firearms. There is also a restricted FID card that allows a person to carry mace or pepper spray.
The licenses are issued at the discretion of local chiefs of police, but the law offers little wiggle room, said Falmouth Police Chief Anthony Riello.
"It's a necessary responsibility," said Riello, who serves as president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. "Having the local authority is important. You may have information about someone who is trying to get a license. It's important to have that input."
Police departments do criminal history and mental health checks on applicants, Sandwich Police Chief Michael Miller said. Felonies, drug convictions and violent crimes automatically rule some applicants out, but the chiefs also have some discretion to keep others from getting licenses.
"The chief has a right to say someone is unsuitable, 'I'm not going to allow it,'" Miller said. The chief's decision can be appealed in court or to a state review board.
For example, someone who has been taken into protective custody a number of times for public drunkenness may not be a candidate for a license to carry, Miller said. Though it's not a crime to be taken into protective custody, the chief is allowed to consider suitability, he said.
"We've had some challenges, but we've never lost one," Miller said.
While the number of licenses issued by police departments is public, the list of owners is not. As part of the state's public records law, the identity of gun owners is protected.
The exemption "is to prevent individuals with devious motives from ascertaining the identities of those who possess firearms," Massachusetts public records law states.
The idea is to avoid giving criminals a road map to guns they might steal, Wallace said, or to make those who don't own guns a target.
That's an area where Wallace and Rosenthal, who has a firearms identification card, agree.
"I don't know that every member of the public needs to know who has a license, but it's appropriate for law enforcement to know," Rosenthal said.
There is a stigma attached to gun ownership in Massachusetts, Wallace said. Guns, even those used for hunting, must be in
an enclosed case on a public road.
"So you never see the doctor who lives next door or your neighbor the plumber putting a gun in the car to go pheasant hunting," Wallace said. "By law we're forced to hide who we are and that makes things worse."
But Rosenthal said gun violence is down, evidence that the strict laws are working. Things could be better if other states followed suit, he said.
"You need training and a license to drive an automobile that doesn't kill people. Why wouldn't there be reasonable restrictions for firearm ownership?"
Types of licenses
* Class A - Allows holder to possess and carry large capacity firearms, rifles, shotguns, and feeding devices (more than 10-round capacity); allows concealed carry of firearms.
* Class B - Allows holder to carry and possess rifles and shotguns (large capacity or not) and non-large capacity handguns (10 rounds or less); concealed carry not allowed
* Firearms Identification Cards (FID) - Allows holder to carry and possess rifles and shotguns that are not large capacity
* Restricted FID - Allows holder to carry pepper spray or mace
Source: Sandwich police firearms application process brochure
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