Gun Laws are a Sham

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Flatfourone

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Hey there everyone! I'm new to the forums. I just moved to Massachusetts from Oregon a year ago and finally found my way to these forums thanks to my brother-in-law (A native New Englander). In any event, I'm not really sure what my point in this post is other than to say how much I have realized how arbitrary and contrived gun laws are given the perspective of having lived in another state.
Having lived in Oregon my whole life, I became accustomed to the gun laws there. Any gun is legal (save for assault weapons and any other national bans). You go to the shop, lay down the money, get an instant background check and walk out the door with your new weapon. Easy. When I moved to Massachusetts, I learned that there is this HUGE list of guns that aren't "approved" in this state. On top of that, I have to request permission from the state to even own a gun. And then I get to pay every seven (?) years for approval to keep my rights to own my guns. HUH? I just don't get it. Other than it being a money-making scheme, what is the difference between owning a "legal" handgun in Oregon and an "illegal" handgun in Massachusetts? I'm sure I sound naive talking about such a basic question but I just can't come to grips with this arbitrary legislation that deems something legal in one state and not another. Thanks for reading. By the way, other than all the taxes, I'm loving New England.
 
Last edited:
Flatfourone said:
Hey there everyone! I'm new to the forums. I just move to Massachusetts from Oregon a year ago and finally found my way to these forums thanks to my brother-in-law (A native New Englander). In any event, I'm not really sure what my point in this post is other than to say how much I have realized how arbitrary and contrived gun laws are given the perspective of having lived in another state.
Having lived in Oregon my whole life, I became accustomed to the gun laws there. Any gun is legal (save for assault weapons and any other national bans). You go to the shop, lay down the money, get an instant background check and walk out the door with your new weapon. Easy. When I moved to Massachusetts, I learned that there is this HUGE list of guns that aren't "approved" in this state. On top of that, I have to request permission from the state to even own a gun. And then I get to pay every seven (?) years for approval to keep my rights to own my guns. HUH? I just don't get it. Other than it being a money-making scheme, what is the difference between owning a "legal" handgun in Oregon and an "illegal" handgun in Massachusetts? I'm sure I sound naive talking about such a basic question but I just can't come to grips with this arbitrary legislation that deems something legal in one state and not another. Thanks for reading. By the way, other than all the taxes, I'm loving New England.
Click to expand...

Aside from the money? It's about making guns harder to get here. Period. No other reason.

BTW, welcome to the forum!
 
It's not just the gun laws in MA. MA has lots of laws that are directed at one thing: controlling the populous. That is what they all come back to.

Some require a civil penalty (also known as a fee or "untapped revenue") to deter certain kinds of behavior, some impose civil or criminal liability to deter other kinds of behavior. However you characterize the transaction, it always is about the state attempting to control the people in it. They have been doing that since the King of England lost his ability to do it and they saw an opening.
 
Welcome to MA, please give us your guns, taxes and desire to be free, we are the government and we are here to hold your hand while we reach into your pocket to feed those we deem 'needy'.

Sry, I'm bitter today.

Welcome to MA though and yes, the laws here are among the dumbest in the land.
 
Class "A" Large Capacity issued for "All Lawful purpose". That's the Gold standard. That is the only "License to Carry" in this state. Any other license issued for any other purpose is just a license to own.

Welcome to MA. Now that you're here and a firearms owner, PLEASE join GOAL. We need all the members we can get. If every "gun" owner in the state was a member the state would not be able to push through all these BS laws.
 
Flatfourone said:
What's a Class A ALP? I have a Class A LTC. Luckily, I live in a small town away from the city so I guess it was easier to get?
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Ahh, so you have already applied for and received your LTC-A Restriction: None (I.E., Class A ALP)? You didn't indicate that in your original post. If so, gratz, and yes, the laws here in MA are funky, to put it lightly.

A good example is the law about horse-keeping. You are not allowed to stable a horse within 500 feet of a church. (Well, it may not carry any weight these days, but it is still on the books, hehe.)
 
A good example is the law about horse-keeping. You are not allowed to stable a horse within 500 feet of a church.
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I believe there is still a $20 fine for blaspheming the holy name of god.
 
HooVooLoo said:
Ahh, so you have already applied for and received your LTC-A Restriction: None (I.E., Class A ALP)? You didn't indicate that in your original post. If so, gratz, and yes, the laws here in MA are funky, to put it lightly.

A good example is the law about horse-keeping. You are not allowed to stable a horse within 500 feet of a church. (Well, it may not carry any weight these days, but it is still on the books, hehe.)
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, sorry. Unrestricted. I just didn't recognize the ALP part. No horses at the moment so I should be okay on that front!
 
Unrestricted. I just didn't recognize the ALP part.
Click to expand...
That's because you're one of them there dang newcomers.

In the really old days, it read "Reason for issuance" and no one really knew how much standing that term had. The best kind of LTC to get (this was in the old days before -A and -B) was ALP - as they obviously weren't issuing licenses "Reason for issuance: none" :). One court case (Ruggerio v. Roache) held that the courts *may* consider violation of a reason of issuance an offense but it was never really clarified in a well understood manner.

Then, in 1998, the -A and -B was introduced, along with a specific penalty for violating any restriction on the LTC. The license still read "Reason for issuance".

One district court (I think it was Ipswitch) held that a "reason" was not a "restriction", so GOAL jumps in to the rescue and demands that the state clarify what restriction means. Brilliant - as if the state was going to say "Good point, it means nothing, everyone with an LTC is unrestricted". So, the state responds by changing the nomenclature to "Restriction"

Licenses are issued "Restrictions: All lawful purposes" for a while until the state further updates the MIRCS system so that the option for that field labeled "All lawful purposes" is now labeled "None".
 
Welcome to NES, & Massachusetts. This State sucks, but we try to do what we can.

You've come to the right place to help you navigate the stupid laws in this State without getting yourself in trouble.
 
Flatfourone,

Welcome.

If you brought any firearms with you, make sure you read through the 'Stickies' at the top of each forum for relevant threads on laws regarding high capacity magazines and the MA Assault Weapons Ban. It will be important to understand how they do or do not impact you.

Example: ...Simple possession of high capacity magazines (more than 10 rounds) manufactured after October 1998 is a felony.
 
Titan said:
If you brought any firearms with you, make sure you read through the 'Stickies' at the top of each forum for relevant threads on laws regarding high capacity magazines and the MA Assault Weapons Ban. It will be important to understand how they do or do not impact you.
Click to expand...

Good advice.

Titan said:
Example: ...Simple possession of high capacity magazines (more than 10 rounds) manufactured after
[STRIKE]October 1998[/STRIKE] 9/13/94 is a felony.
Click to expand...

FIFY [grin]
 
Welcome to The PRM ... , comrade.

Mr. Scrivener - I thought the ma**h***s buggering NH was the force that keeps them from turning Democrat. Saw a pretty good graphic a while back about how Southern New Hampshire's new residents make it the reddest part of the state.
 

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