Carry handgun by LTC from NH into Mass to shoot at Mass range for enjoyment only?

[Harvey T]

I recently invited my son who lives in NH and has a LTC from NH to come to Mass and shoot at my club as a guest. His shooting, as is mine, is for enjoyment only. He would not be competitively shooting, or going to any gun function, etc. He just enjoys target shooting.
He is reluctant to come because of the restrictive Mass laws; fearful that, although the piece would be unloaded, locked, etc., he would subject himself to possible legal action. I can't find any information beyond that it is allowed for competition, gun functions, etc. I would appreciate hearing from anybody who has specific knowledge about what I am asking.

 

[exo]

Assuming you have a MA LTC, meet him at the MA/NH border (on the NH side), take possession of the gun(s), ammo, and magazines, and then cross over with him. So long as the restricted items are in the possession of a MA LTC holder you should be fine.

Please note that any standard capacity ("large" capacity in MA) magazines that are not preban would be illegal in MA.

 

[Palladin]

better yet, you meet him in NH

 

[jasons]

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section131g

Section 131G. Any person who is not a resident of the commonwealth may carry a pistol or revolver in or through the commonwealth for the purpose of taking part in a pistol or revolver competition or attending any meeting or exhibition of any organized group of firearm collectors or for the purpose of hunting; provided, that such person is a resident of the United States and has a permit or license to carry firearms issued under the laws of any state, district or territory thereof which has licensing requirements which prohibit the issuance of permits or licenses to persons who have been convicted of a felony or who have been convicted of the unlawful use, possession or sale of narcotic or harmful drugs; provided, further, that in the case of a person traveling in or through the commonwealth for the purpose of hunting, he has on his person a hunting or sporting license issued by the commonwealth or by the state of his destination. Police officers and other peace officers of any state, territory or jurisdiction within the United States duly authorized to possess firearms by the laws thereof shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to have a permit or license to carry firearms as described in this section.

 

[Len-2A Training]

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section131g

DOES NOT protect anyone!!

It it Null and Void due to the "or" wrt any drug crimes. For NH, Atty Evan Nappen just won a case whereby it solidified that MA lifetime DQ people CAN get a NH NR License (per RSAs) 5 years after a drug conviction (misdemeanor).

Jasons I am surprised at you! You are so picky about "words meaning something" . . . please re-read what you quoted.

There is NO legal way to bring any handgun or large capacity (pre-ban mags too) gun into MA w/o a MA NR LTC (or under LEOSA exemption for some LEOs, maybe).

 

[jasons]

DOES NOT protect anyone!!

It it Null and Void due to the "or" wrt any drug crimes. For NH, Atty Evan Nappen just won a case whereby it solidified that MA lifetime DQ people CAN get a NH NR License (per RSAs) 5 years after a drug conviction (misdemeanor).

Jasons I am surprised at you! You are so picky about "words meaning something" . . . please re-read what you quoted.

There is NO legal way to bring any handgun or large capacity (pre-ban mags too) gun into MA w/o a MA NR LTC (or under LEOSA exemption for some LEOs, maybe).

I thought that was pretty obvious.....

 

[Len-2A Training]

I thought that was pretty obvious.....

Seriously that is the part that esteemed MA firearms attorneys and everyone else missed until Jason Guida did the digging and went public with that info about 2 years ago. Training companies were giving "competition fliers" to non-residents (w/o MA LTC) and telling them that they were GTG for more years than I can remember.

 

[ScottS]

Len, I absolutely believe your interpretation of the law is correct, but I wonder how S&W gets away with hosting the IDPA Indoor Nationals every year. I guarantee all those out-of-state competitors don't have NR-LTCs.

 

[jasons]

Len, I absolutely believe your interpretation of the law is correct, but I wonder how S&W gets away with hosting the IDPA Indoor Nationals every year. I guarantee all those out-of-state competitors don't have NR-LTCs.

There's a ton of stuff in the MGLs that's technically illegal but rarely (or never) enforced.

 

[Len-2A Training]

There's a ton of stuff in the MGLs that's technically illegal but rarely (or never) enforced.

^^^ This.

It is NOT S&W's responsibility to check everyone's guns and licenses for legalities. It is up to those coming into MA to KNOW and COMPLY with the law.

Respected attorneys weren't aware of the gotcha in that exemption and even wrote "competition" forms for trainers, thinking that all was legal. All of us (myself included) missed this completely for years and years! GOAL's info is wrong on their website, no reason to think that S&W is also wrong here. ONLY Jason Guida did the digging to determine this and he educated me on the matter ~2 years ago so that I've been teaching my students about it and posting it here.

 

[ScottS]

^^^ This.

It is NOT S&W's responsibility to check everyone's guns and licenses for legalities. It is up to those coming into MA to KNOW and COMPLY with the law.

Respected attorneys weren't aware of the gotcha in that exemption and even wrote "competition" forms for trainers, thinking that all was legal. All of us (myself included) missed this completely for years and years! GOAL's info is wrong on their website, no reason to think that S&W is also wrong here. ONLY Jason Guida did the digging to determine this and he educated me on the matter ~2 years ago so that I've been teaching my students about it and posting it here.

I wasn't blaming S&W, or assuming they had some "duty to inform." I just used their name because of they host the match. I should have said, "I wonder how all those out-of-state competitors get away with attending the S&W IDPA Indoor Nationals every year."

There are some well-known names in the shooting world that attend that match. Can you imagine the fallout from one of those "check every LTC in the parking lot" scenarios?

 

[jasons]

Can you imagine the fallout from one of those "check every LTC in the parking lot" scenarios?

That's probably why it's never (or at least very rarely) enforced. The Commonwealth doesn't want people with means to challenge these laws, or for non-militant owners to even be aware of them. They'd rather keep laws like this in their pockets for a special occasion when they need to screw someone over who did nothing wrong. Sort of a "go to jail free" card. At least that's my theory.

Also for what it's worth I don't see why it took Guida "digging" to read this one. It's pretty clear for a MA gun law. The one that really threw me for a loop is the one that pertains to large capacity rifles. By MGL they should be perfectly legal for non-residents to bring in and hunt with or to shoot at a range, but some judge decided to misapply the law to screw over a young kid who did nothing else wrong so now we have the actual law and some bullshit bench legislation (case law.) That's another one that only gets used if you're an easy target.

 

[agile_1]

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section131g

OK - I don't get it. To me this says if you are licensed in another state you can bring your firearms into MA for competitions etc.

Is this the kicker? That the licensing authority has to have a law prohibiting licensing people convicted of drug offenses?

licensing requirements which prohibit the issuance of permits or licenses to persons who have been convicted of a felony or who have been convicted of the unlawful use, possession or sale of narcotic or harmful drugs

 

[jasons]

OK - I don't get it. To me this says if you are licensed in another state you can bring your firearms into MA for competitions etc.

Is this the kicker? That the licensing authority has to have a law prohibiting licensing people convicted of drug offenses?

Yes. Any drug offense, even a misdemeanor, at any time ever. Very few states (if any) have that because it would be a bullshit law. NH does not.