But from within the curtilage.
The actual statute reads:
Section 10. (a) Whoever, except as provided or exempted by statute, knowingly has in his possession; or knowingly has under his control in a vehicle; a firearm, loaded or unloaded, as defined in section one hundred and twenty-one of chapter one hundred and forty without either:
(1) being present in or on his residence or place of business; ... yadda³
Since it says "in or
on", which I interpret as the back yard is OK.
It's not
the residence of the party guest - it's the residence of the gun owner.
But Bricka PD misquotes the law as "Outside of Home",
so they must not be hung up on the distinction.
Also, non-slug shotguns don't deserve a 500' safety zone
(although there was probably a house within 40 yards anyhow).
But they'll get lawyers who don't see the potential for a distinction,
and the judge won't let the actual text of the law influence the verdict.
Not that it will go to trial.
Billerica? Isn't that one of those "gated communities" we hear so much about?
They had nearly
five hours to devise some kind of field-expedient storage -
say, break down all the guns and string a ski lock through the receivers -
and they
still had gunz sitting around unsecured when they surrendered.