The state Criminal History Systems Board recently released information indicating that the number of gun owners in Massachusetts has declined by more than 25% in the past six years.
According to Worcester Police Department records, however, the numbers in the city have actually remained steady. The one significant change is in the category of handguns, which show a noticeable increase. In 2005 there were 617 handgun permits issued in Worcester. In 2006 that number went up to 784, and already this year, there have been 821 permits issued.
The numbers clearly indicate an increase, but Worcester Police Chief Gary Gemme says they can be deceiving. "What's missing is the total number of applications that were up for renewal," he says. "We have, over the last three years, denied and revoked a fairly large number of permits."
Given these factors, Gemme says the increase has to be put into perspective. "Between January 2003 and December 2003, we issued 1,300 licenses to carry. When I became chief in 2004, I changed the policy and at the end of the year we gave out 674."
That may be the case, but it doesn't explain the increase in the number of handgun permits issued in the last three years.
"Again, what I don't have is the number up for renewal," he says. "For instance, in 2004, there may have been 1,400 up for renewal and we issued 674." Records show that between 2001 and 2007, the number of citizens issued permits to carry a licensed weapon statewide went from 330,000 to 240,000. A license to carry a firearm in the state costs $100 and is good for six years.
"Criminal History tracks the licenses that are issued, but they don't track the licenses that never make it to their systems," says James Wallace, executive director of the Northboro-based Gun Owners Action League, or GOAL.
Opponents of gun control attribute the decline in the number of legally obtained firearms in the state to a litany of factors.
"You have three things happening," Wallace says. "You have people who have given up because of the bureaucracy. You have a lot of people who have moved out of state because of the way they were treated as a gun owner. And you have a large number of people who have just had it. They own guns and they are not going to bother renewing their licenses."
Wallace says another factor to consider is the Massachusetts Gun Control Act of 1998, which significantly changed the manner in which guns are licensed, especially when it comes to license renewals. "We've been working on these gun laws since they passed them," he says. "Prior to that law passing, we had a million and a half licensed gun owners. Now we are down to 240,000."
In Massachusetts, local police chiefs assume the responsibility of issuing gun licenses.
Opponents say the law gives local police chiefs too much power and creates an inconsistent set of rules across the state. "There's no accountability in the licensing system," says Wallace. "Every city and town seems to have their own way of doing things. It absolutely drives our members crazy."
While there is a decrease in the state numbers and an increase in the city's tally, there is an ironic twist to the story. Chief Gemme has built a reputation for being tough on gun control and Worcester shows an increase in the issuing of gun permits. That is a notable item that you would expect GOAL to be in favor of, but Wallace is not ready to endorse Chief Gemme.
"The chief is the one who can deny you," Wallace says. "He can just say, ‘No.' That's what Chief Gemme started doing when he first came in. He had these new, bizarre criteria you had to meet in order to qualify to own a handgun in his city."
Gemme says, "I think when you look at the people we have denied or revoked, they all had to do with some domestic violence / criminal conduct in their past. " o
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Current Issue: Oct. 9, 2008
he can do anything because he is the chief