question regarding suppressors in massachusetts

When were suppressors banned in MA? <<<---- How's that?
April 16, 1926, that is when section 10A was added to the General laws.

1926 Chap. 0261. An Act Prohibiting The Sale And Use Of Silencers For Firearms.

Massachusetts. (Boston: Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1926)
Chap. 0261 An Act prohibiting the sale and use of silencers for firearms. Be it enacted, etc., as follows: Chapter two hundred and sixty-nine of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section ten...
 
the guy who i was speaking to said we "never" could own one. that doesn't sound correct to me. i'm thinking there was a point in time that we could own a suppressor.
GRIM+PILGRIM+1.png

The longer answer is that the suppressor as we currently know it came to exist approximately around 1905 (I may be off a few years) when it was developed by Hiram Percy Maxim.
images
 
The short answer is that it would be very hard to figure out for most people. Someone who can perform legal research and dig through both Mass and Federal legislative histories would have an easier time.

The longer answer is that the suppressor as we currently know it came to exist approximately around 1905 (I may be off a few years) when it was developed by Hiram Percy Maxim. Between then and NFA34, Federally, anyone could buy a suppressor.

With the enactment of NFA34, suppressors went from being fairly inexpensive items to fairly inexpensive items with heavy, onerous taxes. So, a lot of older suppressors, like original Maxims, "disappeared." Add on state bans and complications, and it'd be very hard to figure out if anyone owned cans in Mass pre-1934.

Mass's LTC system has been around since around the same time as the suppressor. Its been discussed in various threads on here and deceased member @swatgig had a history of Mass gun laws on his law firm's web page.

The problem is, statutes evolve over time. Perhaps the original LTC statute also banned suppressors. The only way to find out would be to either find credible news articles or conduct historical legal research. Anyone could do this, but it would involve checking through old versions of statutes going back until the advent of the suppressor.

Another alternative would be to check to see if Attorney Foley's website is still up; or, use the "way back machine." I believe his website quoted part of a case brief. If his website/the brief mentioned cans, that'd be a good start.
Found it:

And, for posterity, because it's already in the wayback machine:
 
April 16, 1926, that is when section 10A was added to the General laws.

1926 Chap. 0261. An Act Prohibiting The Sale And Use Of Silencers For Firearms.

Massachusetts. (Boston: Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1926)
Chap. 0261 An Act prohibiting the sale and use of silencers for firearms. Be it enacted, etc., as follows: Chapter two hundred and sixty-nine of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section ten...

There's the answer. Curiously, the statute didn't ban possession, but rather sale, disposal, or use. Meaning there wasn't confiscation of individual gun owners' cans.

Anyways, between the early 1900s and 1926, someone in Mass could buy a can without state or Federal hindrance, it seems.
 
Thou shalt not suppress:

Any person, other than a federally licensed firearms manufacturer, an authorized agent of the municipal police training committee, or a duly authorized sworn law enforcement officer while acting within the scope of official duties and under the direct authorization of the police chief or his designee, or the colonel of the state police, who sells or keeps for sale, or offers, or gives or disposes of by any means other than submitting to an authorized law enforcement agency, or uses or possesses any instrument, attachment, weapon or appliance for causing the firing of any gun, revolver, pistol or other firearm to be silent or intended to lessen or muffle the noise of the firing of any gun, revolver, pistol or other firearm shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years in state prison or for not more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction.
What about shooting from inside a 30" corrugated culvert, with pink fiberglass insulation glued to the inside? Nothing is attached.
 
April 16, 1926, that is when section 10A was added to the General laws.
There's the answer. Curiously, the statute didn't ban possession, but rather sale, disposal, or use. Meaning there wasn't confiscation of individual gun owners' cans.
And this despite the fact that the first commercial backhoe was sold in 1953.
 
I'll blow my horn by claiming that when the law changed in 1989 I brought into Mass one of the first, if not the first suppressor. A Ruger/Ceiner integrally suppressed KMK10 .22 pistol. Anyone else? Jack.
Slight aside from the suppressor discussion, but Jack where you in to NFA firearms before the Hughes amendment passed? And if so did you ever submit a form 2 or form 1 for a MG before the ban?
 
Slight aside from the suppressor discussion, but Jack where you in to NFA firearms before the Hughes amendment passed? And if so did you ever submit a form 2 or form 1 for a MG before the ban?
Yes. NFA registration has been around since 1934. Before 1986 I brought in NFA items on Form 3s (purchased by dealer) and made and registered stuff on Form 2s (manufactured). Forms 3&4 (Form4 for individuals purchasing with tax) require pre approval, but with the 07/SOT you just make the shit (incl post sample MGs) and register it with NFA branch on the Form2. No tax, but the small 07mfr still pays the $500/yr SOT and needs a EIN. Non licensees can make stuff like suppressors and SBRs (no MGs) on pre approved Form 1s and pay the tax. Of course, state and local laws must be complied with and tend to screw things up. Complicated enough? Jack
 
Yes. NFA registration has been around since 1934. Before 1986 I brought in NFA items on Form 3s (purchased by dealer) and made and registered stuff on Form 2s (manufactured). Forms 3&4 (Form4 for individuals purchasing with tax) require pre approval, but with the 07/SOT you just make the shit (incl post sample MGs) and register it with NFA branch on the Form2. No tax, but the small 07mfr still pays the $500/yr SOT and needs a EIN. Non licensees can make stuff like suppressors and SBRs (no MGs) on pre approved Form 1s and pay the tax. Of course, state and local laws must be complied with and tend to screw things up. Complicated enough? Jack
Oh no I understand all that. I’m probably one of less than a dozen non LE that own an NFA item in the state of Rhode Island.

I was less wondering about the process and more intrigued by the individual history.
I’m 21, born in an era of rapid communication, easy access to information ect.
Nowadays anyone can log on to sturm, FFL ‘s only, ARF’s NFA bored ect, and have easy access to all atf regs, procedures and so on...

Beyond magazines and regional meetups, how did you get to know people in the NFA community other than word of mouth before the .com era?

Was the ATF a bit more (for lack of a better term) “ lenient“ when it came to violations?

When did you get notice the MG ban was going to pass, and were you involved in the registration rush before the cutoff date?

What was Mass like with regards to MG permits back in the day? Would you describe the attitude of the licensing authorities (and by extension the local PD’s you interacted with) more or less “fudd” like than it is today? For non dealers, how often would PD’s sign off on NFA items?

I literally could go on for another two dozen questions just off the top of my head. Maybe someone has, and I just haven’t seen it, but I have the impression that the majority of the “old timer’s” NFA experiences haven’t been recorded and will continue to fade.
 
Last edited:
Oh no I understand all that. I’m probably one of less than a dozen non LE that own an NFA item in the state of Rhode Island.
Down there how do you even do that? Do you have to be a dealer? I thought most NFA was basically banned there.
 
Down there how do you even do that? Do you have to be a dealer? I thought most NFA was basically banned there.

Is @duza9999 now going to jail?

Guessing 07/SOT?

RI doesn't have a ban on DDs or AOWs. I'm not worried about saying this on the open forum because its been mentioned before on here and the General Assembly's focused on other things on the gun front. The RI General Assembly is very much a reactive force rather than a forward-thinking force; they don't do anything unless they have to. The RI NFA-ban statute simply doesn't ban those items, so its not a 07/02 thing, unlike the hypothetical machine gun manufacturer's license.

11-47-8

11-47-20
 
Last edited by a moderator:
RI doesn't have a ban on DDs or AOWs. I'm not worried about saying this on the open forum because its been mentioned before on here and the General Assembly's focused on other things on the gun front. The RI General Assembly is very much a reactive force rather than a forward-thinking force; they don't do anything unless they have to. The RI NFA-ban statute simply doesn't ban those items, so its not a 07/02 thing, unlike the hypothetical machine gun manufacturer's license.

11-47-8

11-47-20
True, in that case I don’t mind publicly stating it then.


Is @duza9999 now going to jail?

Guessing 07/SOT?
Nope just an average joe.
1620911072563.jpeg

1620911122954.jpeg
 
If one can find a library that is open to the public and has a copy of the Mass Statutes, each statute usually is annotated with dates and info on when changes were made. That might get the OP the info he seeks. Sadly my town had 2 copies of all the Mass Statutes but trashed them all many years ago, so all that historical info is now lost.
 
If one can find a library that is open to the public and has a copy of the Mass Statutes, each statute usually is annotated with dates and info on when changes were made. That might get the OP the info he seeks. Sadly my town had 2 copies of all the Mass Statutes but trashed them all many years ago, so all that historical info is now lost.
Bonus: at least the hardcopy Mass statutes which the Hudson, MA public library
had in their Reference section the 80's were not Mass General Laws -
they were WestLaw's MGLA: Mass General Laws, Annotated.

So you would not merely see the few statutes on-point,
but see thumbnails of what West Publishing's lawyers
thought were the relevant cases on point.

For instance, if you were reading all the statutes on trespassing,
there were numerous rulings from decades ago where Jehovah's Witnesses
were busted for leafleting in apartment buildings,
and got case law that if one tenant deliberately admits you to common spaces,
you can go up and down the halls quietly leafleting all the apartments.

Nowadays at least some of the cases are published on the Intarwebs,
and searching for Massachusetts MGL "Chapter m Section n",
frequently will find the cases. In fact, I only discovered from online reading
that the Witnesses were deliberately trolling for favorable rulings -
not just getting jacked up willy-nilly.

But if my ass was in a sling,
I would be motivated to at least access the (expensive) MGLA,
because it may have more of the relevant cases,
and certainly they're indexed more systematically.

This is an example of what pure Basement Keyboard Lawyers
may not know they're missing.
 
If one can find a library that is open to the public and has a copy of the Mass Statutes, each statute usually is annotated with dates and info on when changes were made. That might get the OP the info he seeks. Sadly my town had 2 copies of all the Mass Statutes but trashed them all many years ago, so all that historical info is now lost.
I'd be interested in the date and history on these:
General Law - Part I, Title XIX, Chapter 131, Section 67
General Law - Part I, Title XIX, Chapter 131, Section 68
 
General Law - Part I, Title XIX, Chapter 131 was completely rewritten in 1967, the older version from 1941 was struck and the new version, with sections 67 and 68 as they are now, was put in its place: 1967 House Bill 4881. An Act Revising The Massachusetts Laws Relating To Inland Fisheries And Game.

ETA The original 1941 law had the equivalent of Section 67 in its Section 78 and the equivalent of Section 68 in its Section 86.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom