Active Military: what do I do if I own guns that aren't mass complient

[USMCShooter123]

I have the license already! thank you all for the info I appriciate it greatly

 

[Len-2A Training]

Thank you for your service and sorry you have to move to MA!

If you're talking about handguns that aren't on the EOPS Approved Weapons Rosters (ex. XD9) then you're OK to bring them in, as long as you don't have any post-'94 regular capacity magazines (>10 rounds). Those lists restrict what can be sold by dealers "to protect us consumers", not what can be owned.

Any rifles, shotguns, magazines or handguns that do not conform the the state AWB are verboten to possess in MA. AFAIK there are no considerations for military in the AWB or rosters. I'm sure Len S. will be along to clarify/fix anything I've got wrong.

Correct, there is no exemption for MIL (privately owned guns).

Why? Who the **** is going to know he has them? You folks only "Register" your firearms when you purchase them. Not when you move into the state from another state.

When you move in you are NOT REQUIRED to register anything. By all means, DO NOT REGISTER anything you bring in with you when you move here.

Pistol: everything is fine. mags, 10 rd only if it was made after 94.
Rifle: MA only have AWB : 1) Pre 94 ban, you don't need to worry a thing. 2) post 94, you will have to make it MA compliant. Pin the stock and no flashhider. For AR mags, same rule as pistols.

These are the rules I'm operating under!

So I can just weld the compensator on then? That makes it permanent and not threaded anymore correct?

Yes, pinned and welded makes it permanent and GTG.

----------------------------------------

As for the AG Bullshit!

- If nothing is registered, she has no way to know what you have.
- She "pinky swear" promised not to prosecute us but claims we are all felons. It's in the USDC now and will all get sorted out one way or another in 2-5 years! Problem with her promise is that the AG doesn't prosecute individuals, it is county DAs who are elected (like she is) and do not report to anyone else either. All indications are that nobody will really go after gun owners, but will persecute FFLs (MA Dealers) with threats and may make an example of one or two of them.
- IANAL but if it were me, I'd just operate under the guidance of the old Fed Ban (and current written MGL).
- I belong to 2 gun clubs and see LOTS of EBRs still on the range. Nobody seems concerned (short of the hand-wringers here on NES) and nobody is "catching" or hassling them for it. Both clubs have plenty of LEOs as members and this includes the Mansfield Chief and his Wife are both members of MF&G.

An interesting aside:

- I don't know if you will be living on base or off base. If on base it is my understanding that all guns have to be kept at the base armory.
- AFAIK US Military bases are US Gov't property and NOT MA property and thus MA LE would have no jurisdiction there. [I am not an expert on this, but as a layman believe this to be true.]
- So if ARs are stored on base, I don't see what our AG or any DA could do about it even if they wanted to. YMMV

 

[namedpipes]

?? You are supposed to FA-10 anything you bring into MA.

This is incorrect.

A resident of Massachusetts must FA10 anything they purchase in another state, within 7(?) days of bringing it into the state.

Since you can only purchase a handgun from an FFL of your state of residence, you can be sure the OP is not currently a resident of Mass.

A person that moves to Mass and becomes a resident does NOT have to FA10 their property. They DO have to comply with the "AWB". which of late has become (deliberately) confusing.

 

[bigblue]

JFC, I'm confused reading this thread and I understand what the rules are. I can't imagine trying to move into this hole and attempting to abide by the rumors and threat of prosecution.

 

[bigalf]

If I can give a you a little advise. If you have any extra money and there is a specific pistol you want that you can get in California buy it now. Not sure CA is much better than MA but there might be something worth busing while your there.

 

[Horrible]

JFC, I'm confused reading this thread and I understand what the rules are. I can't imagine trying to move into this hole and attempting to abide by the rumors and threat of prosecution.

Maybe we should check out the FAQs for some clear guidance

 

[gunofthrones]

If I can give a you a little advise. If you have any extra money and there is a specific pistol you want that you can get in California buy it now. Not sure CA is much better than MA but there might be something worth busing while your there.

No man, Gun price in CA is ridiculous. But for some guns they do have CA compliant version. For instance, for Les Baer 1911, you can't get any here but in CA they have compliant version you can get from the store.

 

[namedpipes]

When a person is Stationed in another state while on active duty they are treated with the benefits of being a resident of that state. Unless folks have been in that position it is a little difficult to understand.

Buying a handgun across state lines is federally prohibited. To do so, the OP would have had to prove CA residency to purchase it, even assuming CA doesn't require a license (of which I have no idea)

I've never heard of a provision to except that, which doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

OP, you should talk to a lawyer and be dead certain of your standing. A couple grand vs a federal prison, I opt for safety...

 

[Len-2A Training]

Buying a handgun across state lines is federally prohibited. To do so, the OP would have had to prove CA residency to purchase it, even assuming CA doesn't require a license (of which I have no idea)

I've never heard of a provision to except that, which doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

OP, you should talk to a lawyer and be dead certain of your standing. A couple grand vs a federal prison, I opt for safety...

Then you need to take my MA Gun Law Seminar!

There very definitely is a Federal exemption for MIL with permanent duty station orders. In fact in certain circumstances they can buy handguns in 2 different states on the same day . . . all legally! I specifically explain these exemptions in my seminar.

 

[joemoia]

If that was the case then he would not even been able to take possession of them they would have had to been shipped by that FFL to an FFL in MA. Active duty personnel at their permanent duty station are treated as residents of that state per these issues. California last I knew did not require a license to own or purchase firearms. So again unless you have been in his shoes, (I have been) you don't know what you are talking about.

California does not require a "license" to own/purchase a firearm. You do have to get a "Firearms Safety Certificate" (obtained by passing a multiple choice basic firearms safety test plus $25 at an FFL) before purchase/transfer a firearm

 

[Stape]

I remember those days. I was AD with home of record in Texas, but lived in CT, while I had a change of home port in ME! It was frustrating trying to buy something in KTP and theyd want to see my DL, but I gave them my military ID card and address on the shhipyard, but then they'd say "but your from CT?" ugh.

I didn't know there was a federal stance on this though as Len alluded to though.

 

[jron]

Sell them to me.

typical helpful NES response.

 

[LoginName]

Another word of advice not mentioned, if the OP plans on driving back to MA, familiarize himself with the safe passage provision of the FOPA (firearms not

immediately accessible, unloaded, locked in a trunk or locked container, etc), and by all means do not stop in NJ or NY for any reason

outside an emergency.

Even then, they'll have to be properly stored and transported once he crosses the border into MA.

 

[In God We Trust]

This is incorrect.

A resident of Massachusetts must FA10 anything they purchase in another state, within 7(?) days of bringing it into the state.

Since you can only purchase a handgun from an FFL of your state of residence, you can be sure the OP is not currently a resident of Mass.

A person that moves to Mass and becomes a resident does NOT have to FA10 their property. They DO have to comply with the "AWB". which of late has become (deliberately) confusing.

I got this same answer when I moved to MA with a gun purchased out of state.

I went to the PD to make sure and the chief asked the town attorney (?) while I was there to confirm.

 

[joemoia]

To the OP

You can purchase Uberti/Cimmaron SA replicas in CA because of the SA revolver exemption. You can't purchase them in MA

You can purchase CZ pistols in CA, you can't in MA

You can purchase several high end Les Baer/Ed Brown 1911s in CA, you can't in MA

OTOH you can purchase a Remington R1 1911 or a Sig P938 (9MM) in MA, but you can't in CA

(this applies to new firearms purchased through an FFL)

 

[jasons]

I was stationed in AZ. Sometimes I wish I had stayed. (More often lately.)

Nobody here ~really~ knows what's up with the AWB crap anymore, anyone who says they do is full of crap. The AG's office hasn't even been able to figure out what the AG is smoking.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Many clerks know about gun laws about as well as many that post here do.

QFT, too bad I can't +rep you again so soon!

I got this same answer when I moved to MA with a gun purchased out of state.

I went to the PD to make sure and the chief asked the town attorney (?) while I was there to confirm.

Oy!! Based on the two town attorneys in my town since I moved here >40 yrs ago, they were both terribly incompetent boobs! Just the things that I caught . . . the first one cost the town to re-roof and replace windows in a school <20 yrs old that if he'd checked the contract (he didn't) would have been a warranty issue (both were leaking for a long time due to poor construction), instead the taxpayers paid for it and the town moderator (friend of town counsel) covered for him by letting me read the report but prohibited me from reading it aloud to the members of Open Town Meeting before a vote! Second worded a few (that I caught him on) articles that would not have accomplished the result desired by the town agency that had put them on the warrant . . . luckily those were corrected after I raised the issue and before we voted.

So the last person I would ever ask for the time of day in my town is our town attorney. Hope others have better luck!

 

[namedpipes]

... I specifically explain these exemptions in my seminar.

That's why we have places like NES and courses like that. The shed a little light on our mystifying gun laws.

... So again unless you have been in his shoes, (I have been) you don't know what you are talking about.

I believe I stated in my post that I did not know for certain, so perhaps a tad less attitude is in order. I learned something today. Should that not be celebrated, not denigrated?

 

[AntiHippie]

What "evil features" do you have on your AR?

OP, do NOT answer that question in a public forum.

 

[AntiHippie]

Does your MA Drivers License still not expire while you are on active duty?

Nope - but I still severed most ties with MA when I PCS'd elsewhere, including my D/L and reg. MA wanted more to renew than it would cost me to get a new D/L, title and reg in my new state, no inspections here, and nobody would otherwise know I'm from MA that way.

 

[Varmint]

Your AR provided it was note registered before the nonsense the AG just foisted upon us may or may not be lawful to posses in MA, even with the 'evil features' removed. Heck even if it was registered all she has done is promise not to prosecute you.

The pistols are no problem (provided they are AWB compliant.)

EDIT: Well I guess if you possessed it pre 7/20 even without registering it in MA you are protected by her weak 'I will not prosecute you' claim. Save your receipt.

Her edict does not apply to his rifles. Get a gunsmith to make them MA compliant (to comply with the actual law) and bring them in.

 

[enbloc]

I have no answer for you Marine, but my gratitude is boundless.
~Matt

 

[Stape]

Does your MA Drivers License still not expire while you are on active duty?

Depends on the state. I drove on my Texas license from when I was 16 y/o until I was 24 and stationed back in Tx. Then, no excuse not to renew it. I remember it was a PITA buying beer with a license that had "under 21" emblazoned across the front of it and trying to explain that I was AD and Texas didn't expire AD guys until 90 days after their EAOS.

On some instances the clerk said they couldn't sell beer without a valid drivers license, refused to accept my military ID....retarded I know...

 

[Stape]

OP, good luck with where the seas take you. I've done more than a few CAX out there and I HATE 29 stumps. I'd figure anywhere is better than camp Wilson. Then again, I was only training out there and didn't have the opportunity o see what might be the nice aspects. Movies were free at the base theatre when we could get libo though....

 

[Varmint]

Not if you are moving in with it. Since he was stationed elsewhere it is like he is moving into the state. So no, there is No FA-10 requirement for him.

Wish I knew that when I moved here. LGS and others told me I had to.

 

[Maui5150]

Id be interested in the XD9 if you were interested in picking up a Mass Compliant High-Point with 35 pound trigger

 

[ThePreBanMan]

I thought there was a military exception... Else the MA national guard would be breaking the law... Just saying.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Choose Pg. 134 in this PDF, bottom of Column 2 and top of Column 3:

https://www.atf.gov/file/11241/download
27 CFR 178.124: FIREARMS TRANSACTION RECORD

A member of the Armed Forces on active duty is a resident of the State in which his or her permanent duty station is located, and may satisfy the identification document requirement by presenting his or her military identification card along with official orders showing that his or her permanent duty station is within the State where the licensed premises are located.

- - - Updated - - -

I thought there was a military exception... Else the MA national guard would be breaking the law... Just saying.

NO exception for personally owned guns/mags.

And if the NG asks you to keep your new military issued mags at home to bring to/from drills, without a written order to that affect, the NG person is at high risk for a felony conviction as again there is no such exemption.

 

[stacarter]

65 posts and not one suggestion to move to NH instead? Wth NES, are you guys off your game or what?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[amm5061]

65 posts and not one suggestion to move to NH instead? Wth NES, are you guys off your game or what?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

You think that's off game, you should've seen the original Healey Day thread. It was dozens of pages in before anyone suggested the obligatory upperdecker, wife, keys.