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Moving to Massachusetts, running my plan/understanding by members here
- Thread starter GVT1967
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ReluctantDecoy
NES Member
RI has no AWB nonsense or magazine restrictions, right? I also believe RI has Castle Doctrine. I'd take all of that over MA's restrictions.
Buck F
NES Member
MA also has Castle Doctrine. I'd rather be able to carry in both states than have standard cap mags that have to stay in my house. You can get pre-ban mags in MA and you can get rifles in MA. RI Legislature considered Mag cap limits and AWB last year and it's only a matter of time before they act on it. It's extremely difficult to get a resident LTC in RI in most places. In the end, we're arguing which State is less shitty, I'd argue MA is and I certainly don't think someone moving to RI versus MA is gaining anything on the gun front.
amb
NES Member
I might be behind the times, but pre-94 AR magazines are still out there in good number and the prices haven't gone through the roof. (Figure a buck a round give or take if you don't mind used GI mags.) Pistol mags are another story.
ReluctantDecoy
NES Member
MA's castle doctrine, if you can even call it that, is rather flimsy when it actually comes to court, with limitations of being your actual home and often excludes curtilage. RI's on the other hand covers places you might be that you don't own, like a hotel room, and is generally far more usable with a better case law/ruling background. So yes, they both technically have castle doctrine, but the flavors are not equal. But I agree RI is holding on to standard caps by a shoe string. Until then though, you don't have to shell out $200 for a 15rd glock mag.
Buck F
NES Member
I wouldn't trust RI's Doctrine in court much either but I hear you, on paper theirs is better. What good does Castle Doctrine covering places you might be but don't own if you can't carry your gun there? And yes, inexpensive Glocks & 15 round mags are very nice to keep inside your home.
<edit> Bottom line: don't move to RI instead of MA because it's going to be better for gun ownership; they both suck, in different ways. Personally, I'll take the mag/AWB restrictions in MA and be able to carry in both states rather than have the mags and fewer AWB headaches in RI (for now) and not be able to carry in either State. Now, NH, ME, VT... those make a difference in terms of firearms freedom and a whole lot more.
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dcmdon
NES Member
This is the kind of stupid worthless posts that make sites like this less useful and more annoying.
But I'll bite anyway. My wife and I moved here 8 years ago from rural CT where we both grew up. We were following 2 things.
1) good jobs
2) good schools.
We paid $150k more for our house here than the one we sold in CT.
Until Covid, that house was 8 years later worth the same as what we sold it for.
Our house in metro west is worth more than 2x what we paid for it.
My wife is making about 2.5x what she was making when we moved here. I was making 1.5x.
The bump in her income allowed me to stay home with the kids and do things with them that you can't do when you have both parents working.
I am a house husband. I'm responsible for home maintenance, cleaning, auto maintenance, kid logistics, shopping, meal prep, and just about anything else that needs to be done for my wife to live the life of a 1950s American husband. When she finishes work, there is meal ready in her clean house.
Its also allowed us to buy a place in NH. Where we spend lots of great family time.
More free time. More money. Great value appreciation on the house. We shoot into Boston from time to time for some "culture". We spend roughly 50 days per year in NH, with easy access to the White Mountains and lakes.
For us the move to the greater Boston area could not have worked out better.
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AHM
NES Member
And on the other hand,
shoal waters in Narragansett Bay
provide ample opportunities for Tragic Boating Accidents.
MisterHappy
NES Member
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Or going Primitive (Muzzle-loader, no in-lie 209 primer)
Thanks for the kind replies and discussion, guys. One follow-up question: once I'm settled in and legal, I want to give one of my pistols to my cousin (who is also an MA resident and an LTC holder). The state isn't going to blow a gasket when we go through the process because the pistol was never registered in the first place, right? It will get registered as we use the gun transaction portal thing, right? Thanks in advance.
AHM
NES Member
Massachusetts doesn't register guns.
Massachusetts logs gun transactions.
MisterHappy
NES Member
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You'll be fine. But remember that you are limited to (4) outbound person-to-person sales in a calendar year. You can dispose of as many as you wish through a FFL, and buy as many face-to-face via eFA-10 as you can afford.
AHM
NES Member
Except that there are some guns that an FFL can buy,
but can only transfer to an FFL out of state -
they can neither sell them, nor transfer them on your behalf,
to an individual in Mass.
Chevy 2 65
NES Member
Others have answered. Welcome and buy a Glock
![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
. Yes, you can.
AHM
NES Member
The difference between the decal on a license plate,
and the receipt from a gas pump?
(Maybe an iffy analogy, but...)
moving in to Massachusetts with guns you already own is not a transaction.
Taking some of your guns out of Massachusetts,
whether for the day or forever,
whether you will still reside in Mass or not,
is not a transaction.
Moving from one town in Mass to another is not a transaction.
(Sending guns back to the factory for service may not be a transaction? I forget).
Driving between other state(s) via Mass with guns is not a transaction.
Flying over Mass. in an airplane with guns is not a transaction.
Buying guns in another jurisdiction and never moving them to Mass. is not a transaction.
Mass. doesn't know about those guns,
may not want to know about those guns,
is not entitled to know about those guns anyhow,
and (if you STFU) will never know about those guns.
The real, functional difference is that there does not need to be a continuum of "registrations" covering the gun moving into MA or moving out of MA.
dcmdon
NES Member
The difference is that in a real registry someone in Government can do a search and see every firearm you currently own or have owned. A registry tracks all transactions in and out.
The current system fails in this because.
1) if you have owned the gun since before an FA10 was required, the state doesn't know the gun exists.
2) if you moved here with guns, the state doesn't know they exist.
3) if you sell the gun out of state, either by mailing it out of state or bringing it out of state, the state doesn't know that it is no longer in your possession.
4) you purchase a gun out of state from a dealer and then bring it in. (Though in this case you are required by law to "register" it via eFA10 when you bring it into MA) I have spoken to a few people who through ignorance have neglected to do this and were "accidental felons".
In contrast, the registry maintained by the ATF for NFA items requires that an entry be made everytime something is
1) made
2) destroyed
3) transferred
4) Imported
5) Exported
In theory (though the ATF screws it up) they should be able search on any Title 2 firearm and know who has owned it since 1934. Or search on any entity, (person, corp, trust) and see what Title 2 firearms it owns.
dcmdon
NES Member
Not sure if your question about "blowing a gasket" was answered. Because the state doesn't have an actual registry, registering a gun that the state has no record of does not raise red flags.
MisterHappy
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AHM
NES Member
Oh, I had that feeling.
Not only should he absolutely become aware of the annual limit,
he should understand that there are some guns
that some FFLs won't want to bother with,
because there is no in-state market for them. (<- Hope that's a true, clear statement).
You should also stock up on aspirin and vaseline. Just when you think MA big gubbmint takes enough, Billy Mays comes and visits
AHM
NES Member
No, for two reasons:
1.
(Unlike many NESers), I'm not looking to buy dozens of guns,
so I don't waste time fixating on The List(s).
As a matter of fact, I suspect (but am not sure) that
many of the guns that I Never Want To Own (not even a little bit)
happen to be off-Listers.
(I'm not sure,
because I don't fixate on The List(s).
See how that works?)
2.
Given my stipulation that I'm talking about many potential transactions,
not all of them, your literal question isn't too important.
FFLs don't acquire guns so they can constantly shift them to each other,
like some kind of musical chair check kiting scheme,
played with machined chunks of metal
instead of pads of business forms.
For the most part,
FFLs acquire guns in the anticipation of selling them to non-FFLs.
And there are plenty of guns that MA FFLs can't sell to non-FFL Mass residents.
Those guns have to be sold to someone out-of-state.
Everyone involved in those transactions wants to wet their beak,
so the amount a Mass FFL would offer to buy such a gun
ought to be below the national market price.
And while some (many?) FFLs are completely comfortable with
marketing, selling, and shipping used guns to other jurisdictions,
some others want nothing to do with it.
Conclusion:
OP should not move in to Mass
with a carload of guns that he expects to flip,
without knowing which guns he can sell via which channels.
He didn't say that was his plan in the slightest.
But it would be a little unfortunate if it was...
Hope that's responsive.
Not trying to state some absolutes.
Just saying that the market in Mass
is not totally free, unregulated, and unwarped.
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dcmdon
NES Member
So in other words. You are backtracking because you are wrong.
You made a very specific statement of "fact". That there are guns FFLs can't transfer to each other.
Then when I questioned you on this because I actually thought you had an example, you went into "Why would they want to", a totally different question.
I ask this because I WAS AN 07 FFL for several years. And what you are saying makes absolutely zero sense.
As a matter of fact, I had some friends who were also dealers or manufacturers and we DID move guns between ourselves. We were small dealers and had limited inventory. Sometimes it was easier to get a gun from a friend than it was to order from a distributor. Or maybe you had something another dealer wanted and he had something you wanted. Or whatever.
Sorry to so starkly reveal your ignorance. Please be more careful in the future.
The goal here is to provide good FACTUAL information. Sorry to call you out.
Don
p.s. There is one kind of firearm that an FFL can not sell to another FFL. That is a post ban machine gun. But even that exception has an exception. If an 07 FFL makes a machine gun and the buyer has a law enforcement demo letter, then he can sell it to the other FFL with a demo letter. He can also sell machine guns that are on his books when he decides to give up his license.
But I'm sure you didn't have this situation in mind.
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AHM
NES Member
Horseshit.
Quote the line in a post of mine where I say that.
But I wager you didn't swan about,
continually buying guns that you couldn't unload on in-staters,
just on spec.
=====
I did gloss over FFLs selling to LEOs.
Which isn't a point you raise...
