Guide to gun rights in your Massachusetts town

[30Mauser]

There are a lot of reason. In addition to those cited by PennyPincher, it can be a change in licensing officer (lots of chief just don't get involved in licensing), it can be a change in policy, and sometimes it's just better information. One thing that happened this year is that we got actual data instead of relying upon anecdotal information. Much of this information was dated and unreliable, often suffering from the 'echo-chamber' effect. I predict that the trend will continue to improve and that licensing data for 2014 will show even fewer restricted license issued than in previous years.

It's no accident. Thanks Comm2A!

 

[rivet_42]

i noticed some towns on the list change...slowly...may i ask what often leads to this?

IIRC a couple of years ago there was an open letter addressed to the Chiefs of Police throughout the Commonwealth that was published in a journal aimed at LEOs. This letter suggested that Chiefs relax their policy on issuing LTC-A/NR, and that they issue with restrictions or deny or downgrade LTCs only when there was a reasonable and articulable basis for doing so. I think that prompted a lot of Chiefs to think about how and when they restrict LTCs. It seemed to me that there was an undercurrent of worry that chiefs might lose their power to exercise discretion if they overused that power or used it arbitrarily. The net effect was that a lot of towns moved further along the spectrum towards "green".

 

[Mini88]

Figured I would share my experience as my first post here. I applied in Danvers on 9/30/14 and received my unrestricted license on 11/12/14 in the mail. Process was quick and pleasant, only complaint would be that they dont schedule interviews, rather they hold 2-3 days a month of walk in hours in the middle of the work day. Was very happy it went so smoothly though.

Great board you guys have here, I have learned a lot.

 

[Billsail]

Figured I would share my experience as my first post here. I applied in Danvers on 9/30/14 and received my unrestricted license on 11/12/14 in the mail. Process was quick and pleasant, only complaint would be that they dont schedule interviews, rather they hold 2-3 days a month of walk in hours in the middle of the work day. Was very happy it went so smoothly though.

Great board you guys have here, I have learned a lot.

Welcome, now join us all in the struggle to keep them (the licenses).

 

[bOOmBoTz401]

Hey all! Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction

I'm from Rhode Island and have been shooting for many years, I've never tried to pursue a ccw in this state because from what I hear the AG denies pretty much everyone and I don't want a denial on my record


I've decided if RI won't issue me one I'm going to move to MA considering I work in taunton MA it would be easier anyways. my question would be which surrounding city or taunton itself would be best bet for an LTC ALP first time, I don't want to move here only to get restrictions!

FWIW I have no record and an excellent career as a truck driver 28 years old, Rhode Island handgun purchase permit is dated 9/11.. so no black flags

 

[rivet_42]

Hey all! Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction

I'm from Rhode Island and have been shooting for many years, I've never tried to pursue a ccw in this state because from what I hear the AG denies pretty much everyone and I don't want a denial on my record


I've decided if RI won't issue me one I'm going to move to MA considering I work in taunton MA it would be easier anyways. my question would be which surrounding city or taunton itself would be best bet for an LTC ALP first time, I don't want to move here only to get restrictions!

FWIW I have no record and an excellent career as a truck driver 28 years old, Rhode Island handgun purchase permit is dated 9/11.. so no black flags

RI may not be as bleak as you think, depending on where you live your local police chief may give you one. There are two schemes for permit issuance, one is run at the state level by the AG and that one denies almost everybody who applies. The other is run by city/town police departments and some (many? most?) of them do the right thing and grant carry permits to individuals who aren't disqualified. Check out the "Rhode Island Laws" forum for more info, personal experiences, etc. Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.

 

[bOOmBoTz401]

RI may not be as bleak as you think, depending on where you live your local police chief may give you one. There are two schemes for permit issuance, one is run at the state level by the AG and that one denies almost everybody who applies. The other is run by city/town police departments and some (many? most?) of them do the right thing and grant carry permits to individuals who aren't disqualified. Check out the "Rhode Island Laws" forum for more info, personal experiences, etc. Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.

I'm currently residing in warwick,RI when I was digging for info I things looked pretty bleak.

 

[browncoat]

I thought RI towns were shall issue by law?

 

[Len-2A Training]

I thought RI towns were shall issue by law?

My understanding is that this is indeed true per RI law. However most cities/towns ignore it. Sounds familiar to MA residents, doesn't it?

 

[rivet_42]

I'm currently residing in warwick,RI when I was digging for info I things looked pretty bleak.

I'm sorry to hear that. Still, you might make note of which communities in RI respect your Second Amendment rights, and keep them in mind when shopping for a new place to live. If you have family and friends in the Warwick area, it might help you stay closer to them.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm currently residing in warwick,RI when I was digging for info I things looked pretty bleak.

I'm sorry to hear that. Still, you might make note of which communities in RI respect your Second Amendment rights, and keep them in mind when shopping for a new place to live. If you have family and friends in the Warwick area, it might help you stay closer to them.

 

[AM13]

Hey all! Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction

I'm from Rhode Island and have been shooting for many years, I've never tried to pursue a ccw in this state because from what I hear the AG denies pretty much everyone and I don't want a denial on my record


I've decided if RI won't issue me one I'm going to move to MA considering I work in taunton MA it would be easier anyways. my question would be which surrounding city or taunton itself would be best bet for an LTC ALP first time, I don't want to move here only to get restrictions!

FWIW I have no record and an excellent career as a truck driver 28 years old, Rhode Island handgun purchase permit is dated 9/11.. so no black flags

Taunton is very green, you would have no problem there

 

[Pete85]

Hey all! Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction

I'm from Rhode Island and have been shooting for many years, I've never tried to pursue a ccw in this state because from what I hear the AG denies pretty much everyone and I don't want a denial on my record


I've decided if RI won't issue me one I'm going to move to MA considering I work in taunton MA it would be easier anyways. my question would be which surrounding city or taunton itself would be best bet for an LTC ALP first time, I don't want to move here only to get restrictions!

FWIW I have no record and an excellent career as a truck driver 28 years old, Rhode Island handgun purchase permit is dated 9/11.. so no black flags

Taunton is a very green city. I haven't heard of anyone getting anything but unrestricted LTC from there. Also they don't require anything beyond what the law specifies for you to get your license. The only problem I've ever heard of anyone having with Taunton is that they don't issue green cards (machine gun licenses), so if on the off chance you have a collection of machine guns, or plan to acquire one, you may want to verify that before making the move.

 

[bOOmBoTz401]

Haha no machine guns here just some AR's and pistols

I did call taunton PD and they seemed very positive on the phone and said there shouldn't be any issues aslong as my record is clean (which it is) so I guess taunton is very green!

 

[ISOTOX]

Figured I would share my experience as my first post here. I applied in Danvers on 9/30/14 and received my unrestricted license on 11/12/14 in the mail. Process was quick and pleasant, only complaint would be that they dont schedule interviews, rather they hold 2-3 days a month of walk in hours in the middle of the work day. Was very happy it went so smoothly though.

Great board you guys have here, I have learned a lot.

The three times I have applied in Danvers.2014 being my third I have never had a problem in Danvers...Opinions may vary.....

 

[MarkM]

Holliston MA.

LTC-A No Restrictions, took 43 days from interview to pickup.

 

[charlie88]

Anyone have the slightest idea when is a good time to call New Bedford and actually get a human being? I've recently moved outta there to a green town and been trying to get a hold of them to see if they'll work with me on my restrictions. Already left a handful of voice mails and apparently they don't want to call back.

 

[sweendog64]

Hi all i posted awhile back that i was moving to MA later this year and thought i would be moving to randolph but now i will be moving to a town called Brockton, i just wanted to see if anyone knows how the process goes for that town. i am hoping it won't be to bad I've had a conceal carry permit in my home state, so i hope that will help me a little.

 

[Billsail]

Hi all i posted awhile back that i was moving to MA later this year and thought i would be moving to randolph but now i will be moving to a town called Brockton, i just wanted to see if anyone knows how the process goes for that town. i am hoping it won't be to bad I've had a conceal carry permit in my home state, so i hope that will help me a little.

You obviously have no control over where you move to. If you did, I would say don't do it.

It's one of the cities in MA that you really need a gun. Someone that is familiar with Brockton licensing will be along shortly.

 

[Quiet]

I'd avoid Brockton like the plague if you can possibly do so. It is a very, very bad place.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Brockton is a place where there are shootings on the street and those guys aren't licensed. Most of the downtown businesses have iron bars on their windows. I think that the biggest business Downtown is done in the courthouses.

Seriously Randolph is bad, but Brockton is 1000x worse.

 

[bandaid bandit]

Some new info on Peabody.

Spoke with the detective that does licensing a little while before xmas. He said that given the new laws, the vast majority of licenses will be issued unrestricted, and as far as removing restrictions, you should be good to go so long as nothing "unsavory" shows up on your background check

 

[Quiet]

Some new info on Peabody.

Spoke with the detective that does licensing a little while before xmas. He said that given the new laws, the vast majority of licenses will be issued unrestricted, and as far as removing restrictions, you should be good to go so long as nothing "unsavory" shows up on your background check

That would be awesome

 

[nxtgto87]

I only have 12 months left before mine expires. I've contemplated trying to get the restrictions removed for a while or just wait it out. Now there's a different chief and licensing officer than when I got mine. Wasn't sure how that was going to affect things, if at all. Happy to hear there may be a glimmer of hope.

Some new info on Peabody.

Spoke with the detective that does licensing a little while before xmas. He said that given the new laws, the vast majority of licenses will be issued unrestricted, and as far as removing restrictions, you should be good to go so long as nothing "unsavory" shows up on your background check

 

[Mass Firearms]

We just received a phone call from the Reading Police Department informing us that they are no longer a "red" town. They wanted MFS and everyone else to know that they made the decision 6 months ago to operate as a "green" town...meaning first time applicants should expect to receive an unrestricted license.

You have to give them credit that they felt strong enough about this to reach out to us directly.

 

[Admin]

We just received a phone call from the Reading Police Department informing us that they are no longer a "red" town. They wanted MFS and everyone else to know that they made the decision 6 months ago to operate as a "green" town...meaning first time applicants should expect to receive an unrestricted license.

You have to give them credit that they felt strong enough about this to reach out to us directly.

Excellent

 

[BostonFJ40]

We just received a phone call from the Reading Police Department informing us that they are no longer a "red" town. They wanted MFS and everyone else to know that they made the decision 6 months ago to operate as a "green" town...meaning first time applicants should expect to receive an unrestricted license.

You have to give them credit that they felt strong enough about this to reach out to us directly.

Wow! I'm very surprised! They still require three references and the application mentions checking with the Department of Mental Health’s Firearms Unit. What's that?

After your appointment, the licensing officer will conduct a background investigation to
confirm that you are not statutorily disqualified or otherwise unsuitable for the license. The
background investigation consists of records checks against the following sources:
Department of Mental Health’s Firearms Unit
Massachusetts State Police’s Identification Section
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fingerprint Unit
Reading Police Department’s Records Management System
Massachusetts Instant Records Check System
Written Reference Letters Provided by the Applicant
Written Reports from Police Encounters or Court Appearances (as necessary)

 

[dgrafton]

Nice to see that some towns are pro-actively getting the word out themselves!

 

[bostonasphalt2]

Wow! I'm very surprised! They still require three references and the application mentions checking with the Department of Mental Health’s Firearms Unit. What's that?

my guess: they have some people (maybe just one) who deals with all firearms related mental health inquiries.....

 

[M1911]

We just received a phone call from the Reading Police Department informing us that they are no longer a "red" town. They wanted MFS and everyone else to know that they made the decision 6 months ago to operate as a "green" town...meaning first time applicants should expect to receive an unrestricted license.

You have to give them credit that they felt strong enough about this to reach out to us directly.

Wow. That is unexpected.

 

[BostonFJ40]

my guess: they have some people (maybe just one) who deals with all firearms related mental health inquiries.....

I guess so...just found this on LinkedIn. Looks like it's been around since 2001...

Firearms Unit Coordinator
MA Dept. of Mental Health
2001 – 2004 (3 years)
Oversaw the development of a computer application to receive, process and report out to state and local police the results of mental health background checks of all applicants for a FID card or license-to-carry a firearm.
Established the firearms unit budget, oversaw the hiring of contract staff and ensured deadlines and benchmarks for automating confinement records at 16-open and eight-closed DMH operated inpatient facilities were being met.
Successfully reduced the response time to requests from two years to less than 14 days.