Active duty military owning gun without license

[cflshooter]

A friend of mine (no it is not me) is active duty military and owns a house in MA and keeps a handgun at his house. He bought the gun while he was a NH resident many years ago. He is usually at sea or his home port in Virginia but when on leave he comes back to MA. He has no license of any kind in MA and does not intend to apply for one. Is he legal? He thinks he is because of his military status. If he is not legal, can he loan the gun to me indefinitely? I know he can not legally transfer it to me. I have a class A hi-cap LTC.

 

[Cross-X]

Your friend's gun possession in MA is utterly illegal. There is no exception to the LTC law for active duty military members.

You can take the gun on loan, and you should go to his house to pick it up. Don't let him drive it over to your place.

Darius

 

[smitty]

Active Duty Military

I am active military (so is my wife) and got orders to MA four months ago. Here is the deal to the state of MA his being active duty military means little or nothing at all. He needs to take a class, pay the $100, and get a CLASS A FID card. The class should cost him between $60 & $120. In short $200 is a small price to be within the law.
I have a CLASS A LTC (with no restrictions). There are people who have lived here their whole lives and can't get that due to the town where they live at. The local police cheif's have too much authority (power) and could say no due being anti gun.
SMITTY

 

[Cross-X]

Smitty, I think you missed the part of the OP's post where he said his friend has a handgun. An FID won't get it. He'll need a Class A or Class B LTC depending on the capacity of the handgun he owns.

 

[Admin]

Isn't Massachusetts just grand?

 

[MrsWildweasel]

Yeah, and I can't wait to leave it. When Glenn and I visited my brother in Texas, the house he was renting at the time had a nice built in feature right in the closet by the front door.... this really nice gun rack. You won't see it here.

 

[cflshooter]

Thanks Cross-X.
His ship is back from a 4 month deployment to persian gulf next week and he plans to come up to MA for a few days. I will arrange to go to his house and take possession of the gun. He will be very amused at MA law I'm sure. The Navy has him in command of all weapons systems on a 500 foot US warship but in MA he can not own a single Colt 1911 without going through an expensive and time-consuming application process.

One last question for Cross-X. What is the difference between my friend's situation and any active duty military, who do not have MA LTC, but are in MA (permanently or temporarily) and need to possess a weapon for their duties? Are they in violation of MA gun laws as well? If so, then is it just not being enforced?

 

[Rob Boudrie]

need to possess a weapon for their duties?

Military are exempt if possessing/carrying on "official orders".

 

[Cross-X]

Military are exempt if possessing/carrying on "official orders".

I agree -- but usually the guns they carry are US Government property, and not privately owned guns.

 

[JonJ]

He will be very amused at MA law I'm sure. The Navy has him in command of all weapons systems on a 500 foot US warship but in MA he can not own a single Colt 1911 without going through an expensive and time-consuming application process.

He can't own an empty case, primer or bullet never mind a pistol!

 

[cflshooter]

Military are exempt if possessing/carrying on "official orders".

Can someone cite the source of the "military exception" for me? I want to send it to my friend before he comes back to MA.

 

[jdubois]

Can someone cite the source of the "military exception" for me? I want to send it to my friend before he comes back to MA.

MGL Ch 140 Sec 129C

"No person, other than a licensed dealer or one who has been issued a license to carry a pistol or revolver or an exempt person as hereinafter described, shall own or possess any firearm, rifle, shotgun or ammunition unless he has been issued a firearm identification card by the licensing authority pursuant to the provisions of section one hundred and twenty-nine B.

[...]

The provisions of this section shall not apply to the following exempted persons and uses:

[...]

(k) [...] a duly commissioned officer, noncommissioned officer or enlisted member of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard, or the National Guard or military service of the commonwealth or reserve components thereof, while in the performance of his duty;

[...]"

 

[SemiAutoSam]

What ever happened to the RTKABA ?

Although I have been logging on and posting here for over a year since I don't live in your area or state I didn't really know the inner workings of your gun laws.

And as I see it states shouldn't have gun laws as the feds have enough in the department of laws.

But As I see it the 2nd Amendment says it all.

Asking someone to obtain a Licence is infringement in my book.

Feel free to use this image where ever it helps the cause.

 

[Scrivener]

What ever happened to the RTKABA ?

Although I have been logging on and posting here for over a year since I don't live in your area or state I didn't really know the inner workings of your gun laws.

And as I see it states shouldn't have gun laws as the feds have enough in the department of laws.

But As I see it the 2nd Amendment says it all.

Asking someone to obtain a Licence is infringement in my book.

This from someone in California...