Anyone knows how many gun owners - licensed, that is - are in MA?

[sbi]

roughly?! Are we talking 50K people, 200K people, more?!

Reading threads here in the last few days really ticked me off about this this state. The last 'offender' was this one by
Chevy 2 65.
Just to make it clear - Chevy 2 65 didn't offend me or pissed me off, but the true, hurting fact in his above response, how ****ed up this state is, did. It is like you're getting many punches to your face every day, but then there's this one particular punch that throws you to the curb and kind'a "wakes you up".

So here's my crazy idea here (don't bash me, I am serious):
I know there's GOAL and other organization, but I was thinking - nothing seems to change, there is no progress, we are suffering and complaining, we are the biggest laugh in the country (dang, we can't even buy mace without a license), we all have wet dreams about a "free state" but unfortunately not everyone can just walk out and move, Marcia and the rest of the scumbags in Beacon Hill spit in our face on a daily basis; and God help us, if this bitch becomes our governor come November - and all indications point in this direction - 10 rd. magazines and other 'bans' will be the least of our problems.

If nothing changes things for us, why don't we get organized in a political movement? Forget democrats and republicans. How many are we? Do we have power? Crazy thought, I know, but desperate times calls for desperate ideas.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

It's wrong to say that there isn't any progress and you'd be equally wrong to say we're the biggest laughing stock in the country. Depending upon your priorities, I'd put California, New Jersey, New York, or Maryland higher on that list.

The irony about Massachusetts is this: we make it harder than any other state to actually own a gun. However, once you cross that threshold we're the 'best of the bad' when it comes to carry. The LTC, which you need to own a gun, is by default a carry license unless it's restricted, and it's only ever restricted in a few communities.

BTW, there are about 300K active LTCs in the state.

 

[Burgundy41]

I've read 250k, so barely any.

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It's wrong to say that there isn't any progress and you'd be equally wrong to say we're the biggest laughing stock in the country. Depending upon your priorities, I'd put California, New Jersey, New York, or Maryland higher on that list.

The irony about Massachusetts is this: we make it harder than any other state to actually own a gun. However, once you cross that threshold we're the 'best of the bad' when it comes to carry. The LTC, which you need to own a gun, is by default a carry license unless it's restricted, and it's only ever restricted in a few communities.

BTW, there are about 300K active LTCs in the state.

Are restricteds that uncommon? It seems semi-common to me.

 

[rocket500]

There is stuff happening. Comm2A is making steady progress in the courts beating back the horrid gun laws we have in this state. They just won another case this week. Give them some money if you want to make some progress. The more money they have the more they can litigate.

300k permit holders in a state of 6.6 million that's overwhelmingly Democrat. We don't have a lot of political power as a group, no.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

I've read 250k, so barely any.

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Are restricteds that uncommon? It seems semi-common to me.

Restriction seem common because people with unrestricted licenses don't complain about it. Less that 10% of all LTCs are restricted.

 

[warwickben]

Restriction seem common because people with unrestricted licenses don't complain about it. Less that 10% of all LTCs are restricted.

The one with the biggest mouth has the most to bitch about .....

I figured it was the other way around that more people got restricted.

 

[browncoat]

roughly?! Are we talking 50K people, 200K people, more?!

Reading threads here in the last few days really ticked me off about this this state. The last 'offender' was this one by
Chevy 2 65.
Just to make it clear - Chevy 2 65 didn't offend me or pissed me off, but the true, hurting fact in his above response, how ****ed up this state is, did. It is like you're getting many punches to your face every day, but then there's this one particular punch that throws you to the curb and kind'a "wakes you up".

So here's my crazy idea here (don't bash me, I am serious):
I know there's GOAL and other organization, but I was thinking - nothing seems to change, there is no progress, we are suffering and complaining, we are the biggest laugh in the country (dang, we can't even buy mace without a license), we all have wet dreams about a "free state" but unfortunately not everyone can just walk out and move, Marcia and the rest of the scumbags in Beacon Hill spit in our face on a daily basis; and God help us, if this bitch becomes our governor come November - and all indications point in this direction - 10 rd. magazines and other 'bans' will be the least of our problems.

If nothing changes things for us, why don't we get organized in a political movement? Forget democrats and republicans. How many are we? Do we have power? Crazy thought, I know, but desperate times calls for desperate ideas.

The sad thing is that not all of those LTC holders would be on your side. Some of them think that we should be grateful for all that we are given by the government in this state... by golly they let​ us own hand guns!

 

[Sniper (+)]

a little over 300k. Before the idiocy in 1998 took effect 1.5 million.

Edit: it was 250k a few years ago, it's climbing and thats a good thing.

 

[shamrockjr]

...why don't we get organized in a political movement? Forget democrats and republicans. How many are we? Do we have power?

Given that gun owners account for about 5% of the MA population, our power is limited. The good news is that # has been consistently on the rise thanks to liberal's never-ending gun grab attempts.

If you want to make a difference consider getting involved with an existing org (e.g. GOAL). They have been fighting the good fight for years and if they had more people like you fighting it with them, we'd all be better off.

 

[browncoat]

a little over 300k. Before the idiocy in 1998 took effect 1.5 million.

Edit: it was 250k a few years ago, it's climbing and thats a good thing.

So of those 1.5 million, I'm guessing most of them are still alive, and most of them still have guns. Is there a reason so few of them decided to get LTCs or FIDs? Are they the folks who, in a free state, just buy a shotgun to have under the bed "if they need it" but never really go shooting?

 

[headednorth]

The sad thing is that not all of those LTC holders would be on your side. Some of them think that we should be grateful for all that we are given by the government in this state... by golly they let​ us own hand guns!

Using the numbers quoted earlier in the thread, we're at roughly 4.5% of MA residents who hold an LTC. Some percentage of that already small number "see no reason why you need a magazine with more than ten rounds", " dont know why people feel the need to carry concealed", and think "only the police and the military should have "assault rifles"", etc...

 

[Sniper (+)]

So of those 1.5 million, I'm guessing most of them are still alive, and most of them still have guns. Is there a reason so few of them decided to get LTCs or FIDs? Are they the folks who, in a free state, just buy a shotgun to have under the bed "if they need it" but never really go shooting?

Not sure but i know one who didn't know his "lifetime" FID expired until 13 years after the fact and another who "'I'm not paying them $100 to run 2 cents worth of ink over 6 cents of paper".

 

[rocket500]

I doubt most of them still have guns. Some percentage do, but I think most is probably a real stretch.

 

[drgrant]

Restriction seem common because people with unrestricted licenses don't complain about it. Less that 10% of all LTCs are restricted.

This, if someone gets an A/none or A/protection, they're not likely to complain much.

Even then, a of people forget that out of a number of LTC holders, only a relatively small percentage of them actually wish to carry a handgun on a regular basis anyways (let's say, at least several times a month) restriction or not.

-Mike

 

[browncoat]

Not sure but i know one who didn't know his "lifetime" FID expired until 13 years after the fact and another who "'I'm not paying them $100 to run 2 cents worth of ink over 6 cents of paper".

Interesting... there is definitely something very odd about a "lifetime" license becoming a "non-lifetime" license. Something in that smacks of a lack of due process, like so much of the system hereabouts.

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I doubt most of them still have guns. Some percentage do, but I think most is probably a real stretch.

So most (750,000+ people) got rid of all of their 750,000+ guns just because a law got passed on beacon hill? That is disappointing.

 

[TonyDedo]

It's going to take a court case to change anything meaningful in MA. There aren't enough gun owners, and too many of them are too apathetic to drive any change at the ballot box.

 

[Len-2A Training]

The sad thing is that not all of those LTC holders would be on your side. Some of them think that we should be grateful for all that we are given by the government in this state... by golly they let​ us own hand guns!

More than you could imagine believe this!

 

[mikem317]

262,789.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Interesting... there is definitely something very odd about a "lifetime" license becoming a "non-lifetime" license. Something in that smacks of a lack of due process, like so much of the system hereabouts.

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So most (750,000+ people) got rid of all of their 750,000+ guns just because a law got passed on beacon hill? That is disappointing.

The entire GCA of 1998 (Ch. 180) lacked due process. Nobody in the MA court system cares about that.

No most people did not get rid of their guns.

- Many of us had both FID and LTC. The value of an FID is really almost zero and thus most of us that had both dropped the FID.
- Some indeed had died.
- Some escaped the gulag for Free America.
- Some said screw it, I'm not dealing with that crap. Of that number I'll bet the largest percentage still possess their guns.

Nobody can tell you the numbers of any of the above, but it is a safe bet that it is considerable.

 

[Zappa]

Not sure but i know one who didn't know his "lifetime" FID expired until 13 years.

I know a few of these guys myself, many are aging war vets that may have an old Springfield or Mauser in their closet that hasn't seen daylight in 40 years. They decide one day they want to take it out and blow the dust off it and discover "what do you mean my FID card isn't valid anymore?".
It's pretty sad that they're this uninformed on the current laws, and there are plenty of them out there.
What's even worse is when they pass away, their widows find these treasures and give them to the police to get rid of.

[sad2]

 

[rivet_42]

Are restricteds that uncommon? It seems semi-common to me.

I think it depends on whether you're counting the number of towns that issue default-restricted versus the number of people who live in those towns. Only a few towns issue default-restricted but they include some of the most densely populated in the state. I tabulated some population data against the green/red/orange town page. Population figures are from 2010 and are taken from an article on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_Massachusetts).

Count of towns:
Black 1
Green 247
Orange 16
Red 35
Unknown 52

Total 351 towns. 247 are green, that's 70.4%. 52 are orange, red, or black, that's 14.8%. From that point of view, "green" looks like the rule. However, it starts looking a lot different if you break it down by population instead.


Black 21,561
Green 3,884,762
Orange 643,863
Red 1,891,005
Unknown 106,438

Total population 6,547,629. 2,556,429 people or 39% of the state lives in a red, black or orange town. 59.3% of the state lives in a green town. The "unknown" towns only accounts for 1.6% of the population, which is probably why there are no stories from there.

So red/black/orange towns are 14.8% of the towns on the map but they account for 39% of the state's population.

Other things that could skew the data: People tend to post about a bad experience or negative outcome more readily than they post about a good one. People in the more densely populated towns, which tend to issue restricted LTCs, may also be online more and thus may post to NES more. I'm sure we could come up with more.

BTW, I notice Ripton is a green town.

 

[dgrafton]

roughly?! Are we talking 50K people, 200K people, more?!

Reading threads here in the last few days really ticked me off about this this state. The last 'offender' was this one by
Chevy 2 65.
Just to make it clear - Chevy 2 65 didn't offend me or pissed me off, but the true, hurting fact in his above response, how ****ed up this state is, did. It is like you're getting many punches to your face every day, but then there's this one particular punch that throws you to the curb and kind'a "wakes you up".

So here's my crazy idea here (don't bash me, I am serious):
I know there's GOAL and other organization, but I was thinking - nothing seems to change, there is no progress, we are suffering and complaining, we are the biggest laugh in the country (dang, we can't even buy mace without a license), we all have wet dreams about a "free state" but unfortunately not everyone can just walk out and move, Marcia and the rest of the scumbags in Beacon Hill spit in our face on a daily basis; and God help us, if this bitch becomes our governor come November - and all indications point in this direction - 10 rd. magazines and other 'bans' will be the least of our problems.

If nothing changes things for us, why don't we get organized in a political movement? Forget democrats and republicans. How many are we? Do we have power? Crazy thought, I know, but desperate times calls for desperate ideas.

Check out what Comm2A has been getting accomplished lately.

As was noted in another thread, better to have one organized group taking little bites than multiple groups making a mess that Comm2A has to clean up before they can move forward.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Helix]

I'm heading South to a free state in 10 years when I retire. I've had enough of the nanny state of Massachusetts. Elected officials DO NOT know what's best for me.

 

[clancy dogg]

262,789.

How many of those are police officers?

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

How many of those are police officers?

That's actually an older number and low. There are probably about 16,000 police officers in the state and there's nothing different about an LTC issued to a police officer. Not all agencies require their officers to get an LTC. Large cities like Boston and Springfield do not and my sense is that the vast majority of officers don't bother getting a LTC.

 

[clancy dogg]

Not all agencies require their officers to get an LTC. Large cities like Boston and Springfield do not and my sense is that the vast majority of officers don't bother getting a LTC.

Interesting; that wasn't my impression.

 

[Palladin]

Scott Brown knows what 250,000 voting gun owners can do

 

[Billsail]

Interesting... there is definitely something very odd about a "lifetime" license becoming a "non-lifetime" license. Something in that smacks of a lack of due process, like so much of the system hereabouts.

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So most (750,000+ people) got rid of all of their 750,000+ guns just because a law got passed on beacon hill? That is disappointing.

Many former license holders tried to renew, but found out because of 'new' stricter requirements regarding DUI and 'formerly' minor misdemeanors, they had become ineligible. This, along with the previously mentioned reasons, is why our numbers are woefully low.

 

[terraformer]

I've read 250k, so barely any.

There has been a lot of growth in the last few years.

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That's actually an older number and low. There are probably about 16,000 police officers in the state and there's nothing different about an LTC issued to a police officer. Not all agencies require their officers to get an LTC. Large cities like Boston and Springfield do not and my sense is that the vast majority of officers don't bother getting a LTC.

It's in their best interests to not get an LTC. A few of the MGLs criminalize behavior for people with LTCs but not without them.

 

[jasons]

BTW, there are about 300K active LTCs in the state.

Does that include FIDs? I've heard the number 350,000 kicked around, but I assume that includes FIDs.