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Massachusetts Law About Guns and Other Weapons

Massachusetts Laws

MGL c.140, s.121-131P, Sale of Firearms. Includes:

MGL c.140, s.121 Definitions of Firearm Types
MGL c.140, s.129C Non-Residents Carrying Firearms: Rifle or Shotgun
MGL c.140, s.131 License to Carry: Class A or B - Resident
MGL c.140, s.131F License to Carry: Class A or B - Non-Resident
MGL c.140, s.131G Non-Residents Carrying Firearms: Pistol or Revolver
MGL c.140 s.131K Firearm Safety Devices
MGL c.140 s.131L Storage of Weapons
MGL c. 140 s. 131P Firearms Safety Training

MGL c.269, s.10. Carrying dangerous weapons; possession of machine gun or sawed-off shotguns; possession of large capacity weapon or large capacity feeding device; punishment. Subsection (j) prohibits arrying a weapon on the grounds of a school or university.

MGL c.276, s.58A(1) "The commonwealth may move, based on dangerousness, for an order of pretrial detention...[for a person] arrested and charged with a violation of paragraph (a), (c), or (m) of section 10 of chapter 269 [illegal weapons]."

Massachusetts Regulations

501 CMR 7 Approved Weapons Rosters
501 CMR 13 Standards for Identification Cards for Retired Law Enforcement Officers
515 CMR 3 Firearms Safety Instructors Certification; Basic Firearms Safety Course; and Firearms Surrender Program
515 CMR 6 Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Training and Qualification Standards and Instructor Certification
803 CMR 10 Gun Transaction Recording
940 CMR 16 Handgun Sales

Other States' Laws

Compendium of State Firearms Laws, NRA Institute for Legislative Action.

State Laws and Published Ordinances - Firearms, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Forms

Firearms Forms

Selected Case Law

Commonwealth v. Fettes, 64 Mass.App.Ct. 917 (2005). A dog can be a dangerous weapon. "A dangerous weapon is 'any instrument or instrumentality so constructed or so used as to be likely to produce death or great bodily harm.' Commonwealth v. Farrell, 322 Mass. 606, 614-615 (1948). See also Anderson, Wharton's Criminal Law and Procedure, § 361. There can be little doubt that a dog . . . used for the purpose of intimidation or attack falls within this definition." Commonwealth v. Tarrant, 2 Mass. App. Ct. 483, 486 (1974)."

Commonwealth v. Runyan, 456 Mass. 230 (2010). Trigger locks or locked containers can be required. The Second Amendment is not incorporated under the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of substantive due process and therefore does not apply to the States. Further, the General Laws c. 140, § 131L (a) can be distinguished from the law ruled unconstitutional in Heller, because "an individual with a valid firearms identification card issued under G. L. c. 140, § 129C, is not obliged to secure or render inoperable a firearm while the individual carries it or while it remains otherwise under the individual's control...; the statute therefore does not make it impossible for those persons licensed to possess firearms to rely on them for lawful self-defense."

District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 US 570, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (June 26, 2008). "The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."

McDonald v. City of Chicago, __ US __, 130 S.Ct. 3020 (2010). In clearly stating that "the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment makes the Second Amendment right binding on the States," the court also reiterated its statement from Heller that "the right to keep and bear arms is not 'a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.'”

Other Web Sources

Airline Transportation of Firearms, NRA Institute for Legislative Action.

Approved Weapons Rosters, Executive Office of Public Safety. Links to both the Approved Firearms Roster and the Large Capacity Firearms Roster.

Are You a Suitable Gun Owner? Police Chiefs Decide, Metrowest News, Jan. 16, 2011. Explains criteria for getting a gun permit in Massachusetts.

Firearms Laws and Policies, Legal Community Against Violence. Includes: Overview of Second Amendment doctrine, plus summaries of over 200 federal and state appellate cases; Summaries of federal constitutional provisions and statutes relating to firearms;
Summaries of firearms laws in every state (and local ordinances in some states); and Details on new firearm-related laws and recent changes to federal and state firearms law and policy.

Firearms Possession Information, Executive Office of Public Safety. Includes information for residents and nonresidents.

Guide to the Interstate Transportation of Firearms, NRA Institute for Legislative Action.

MA Firearms Frequently Asked Questions, Executive Office of Public Safety. Includes question on licensing, storage, locks, transporting and more.

Under the Gun, Boston Globe, May 29, 2008. Requirements for obtaining a concealed weapon license differ from town to town in Massachusetts.