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Carrying in bars in Boston

And I thought BAC meant Boston Area Club. Who knew?


Scriv, in relation to you post about drugs and alcohol, you mentioned depressants. What about Anti-depressants? Any rules? Thanks.
 
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I think what GSG and NWanner were saying was that there isn't a defined BAC that is a Go/No Go. For driving, you've got the .08 limit that says you're drunk. If you blow a .02 on the breathalyzer, then you're clear. For carrying, it just says "under the influence" and doesn't define what that is. For a chicken like me, that means if I get a cop who wants to push it, .01 means I'm under the influence. I don't believe that in this state, a .08 limit for driving will carry over to carrying, so if drinking, I don't carry, lest I have to call you or your colleagues to defend me.



Why do I have a bad feeling about arguing with a lawyer?
 
i don't go to bars too often and when i do, it's with 1 or 2 close friends or up to three relatives. i don't do large crowds. it seems the larger the crowd, the greater the 10% (you know, 1 out of 10 that ruins it for the night- LOL)

i don't carry under these circumstances

*otherwise, i carry and have a beer or two over a meal. no big deal IMO.
 
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Interesting that the MGL website lacks that section in Chapter 269 (direct link: http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/269-10h.htm). If I read that right, it only criminalizes carrying a firearm as defined in c140s121 (ie, a pistol or revolver). So you can be completely cocked and carrying a shotgun? Unless that's prohibited somewhere else, which wouldn't surprise me.

Depicts, it references c94Cs1 for depressants and stimulants. That section reads:
“Depressant or stimulant substance”,

(a) a drug which contains any quantity of barbituric acid or any of the salts of barbituric acid; or any derivative of barbituric acid which the United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare has by regulation designated as habit forming; or

(b) a drug which contains any quantity of amphetamine or any of its optical isomers; any salt of amphetamine or any salt of an optical isomer of amphetamine; or any substance which the United States Attorney General has by regulation designated as habit forming because of its stimulant effect on the central nervous system; or

(c) lysergic acid diethylamide; or

(d) any drug except marihuana which contains any quantity of a substance which the United States Attorney General has by regulation designated as having a potential for abuse because of its depressant or stimulant effect on the central nervous system or its hallucinogenic effect.
Click to expand...
 
pdm said:
If I read that right, it only criminalizes carrying a firearm as defined in c140s121 (ie, a pistol or revolver). So you can be completely cocked and carrying a shotgun? Unless that's prohibited somewhere else, which wouldn't surprise me.
Click to expand...


And only applies to those who possess a LTC. If someone were to be carrying a firearm without a LTC and were "under the influence" they could not be charged under that statute.

[thinking]
 
drgrant said:
I don't see what the question is here.

If you're going to get sloshed, then don't carry.

If not, then why not carry? I don't see what the "quandry" is here, unless your trip to boston involves meandering through a college campus (where it's obviously illegal) or going to/from a venue with a security checkpoint.

I kinda agree with Underwhere in the sense that if you're "wonky" about carrying a firearm while barhopping, why not just seek a middle ground and get a good can of OC instead? It's a hell of a lot better than nothing.

-Mike
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+1 I OC while I am drinking.
 
Section 10H. Whoever, having in effect a license to carry firearms issued under section 131 or 131F of chapter 140, carries on his person, or has under his control in a vehicle, a loaded firearm, as defined in section 121 of said chapter 140, while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or marijuana, narcotic drugs, depressants or stimulant substances, all as defined in section 1 of chapter 94C, or the vapors of glue shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.



So now I have to stop sniffing glue as well??? WTF![frown]
 
Note the maximum penalty carefully. Since it's over 2 years, it's a lifetime federal disqualification, regardless of how little you manage to get off with. Don't worry about having your LTC yanked or downgraded, since you can never touch a gun or a cartridge again as long as you live.

Ken
 
Dench said:
you know - there are lots of really nice bars in boston, in good areas were you dont have to fear your life to go and enjoy...
Click to expand...

My wife and I were jumped by a purse snatcher in one of the 'nice' areas in Boston. I grabbed the guy and threw him up against the wall before I even knew what I was doing. He dropped the purse and ran, but it got me thinking. He could have had a knife, gun, or other weapon and the encounter could have turned ugly real quick. So much for safe areas.

It seems that in order to go out and enjoy yourself you have to give up your right to defend yourself. I'm not saying go out and get blotto. But if I were to go out with friends and have a couple of beers and be over the legal driving limit (of course I wouldn't be the one driving) that I can't use a gun to defend myself. That doesn't seem right to me.

My understanding of the situation is that I would only pull it out under the most dire circumstances. I believe I have that much self control, especially given how much I drink. It would be the same as me deciding I needed to drive a friend having a heart attack to the hospital after drinking (contrived example, I know). In both cases it would be a last resort, and I would have to deal with the consequences of my decision should I do something wrong. But it seems to me that carrying while having a non-zero BAC is the same as having car keys in my pocket. There's the potential for bad things to happen, but 99.9% of the time it's a non-issue.

I guess it's the libertarian idealist in me clashing with the socialist real world...
 
It would be the same as me deciding I needed to drive a friend having a heart attack to the hospital after drinking
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Even without the drinking issue, it is much better to call for an ambulance, as the ambulance actually starts treatment en-route, and will arrive with an EKG ready for the ER personel, plus they have a defib if needed.
 
It's really quite simple, guns and alcohol/drugs/inhalents dont mix, if your irresponsible enough to consume in any amounts, anything that will impare your ability to think clearly, then you shouldnt be allowed to carry a firearm to begin. People that do shit like that, is what gives responsible gun owners a bad rep... So please leave the heater at home if your going to consume any of the forementioned...
 
Blitz1 said:
Section 10H. Whoever, having in effect a license to carry firearms issued under section 131 or 131F of chapter 140, carries on his person, or has under his control in a vehicle, a loaded firearm, as defined in section 121 of said chapter 140, while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or marijuana, narcotic drugs, depressants or stimulant substances, all as defined in section 1 of chapter 94C, or the vapors of glue shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.



So now I have to stop sniffing glue as well??? WTF![frown]
Click to expand...

Airplane: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve McCroskey: Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue. "
 
My personal rule is that I won't touch alcohol while carrying in public. At home or in the home of a trusted friend, I'll have a drink or two, but avoid getting intoxicated. I don't fault Ken's approach, but I'm not comfortable with it for myself.

With regard to bars that have wanding or pat-downs at the door, I don't go to places like that. Sounds like at least the first of three stupids to me.
 
I don't carry when drinking, even when I go out in Somerville, haha. It's not worth the risk of losing the LTC, or as was mentioned before the federal case issue. Knife and fists will have to suffice when drinking; however, I roll with a crowd of rather large gentlemen, so getting into a scuffle is very unlikely.
 
Scrivener said:
Willfully obtuse you am.

TSTL [rolleyes]
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Guys, don't be so hard on Scrivener. He is correct.


Section 10H. Whoever, having in effect a license to carry firearms issued under section 131 or 131F of chapter 140, carries on his person, or has under his control in a vehicle, a loaded firearm, as defined in section 121 of said chapter 140, while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or marijuana, narcotic drugs, depressants or stimulant substances, all as defined in section 1 of chapter 94C...

As PDM had posted previously...

CHAPTER 94C. CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT

Chapter 94C: Section 1.

“Depressant or stimulant substance”,
...

(b) a drug which contains any quantity of amphetamine or any of its optical isomers; any salt of amphetamine or any salt of an optical isomer of amphetamine; or any substance which the United States Attorney General has by regulation designated as habit forming because of its stimulant effect on the central nervous system; or...

(d) any drug except marihuana which contains any quantity of a substance which the United States Attorney General has by regulation designated as having a potential for abuse because of its depressant or stimulant effect on the central nervous system or its hallucinogenic effect.


Since there is no definition of what "under the influence" means, we all should be careful and not presume it to mean that there is a certain BAC we must achive to "go over the level that would make us influenced."

Yes?
 
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Firearms + Booze = bad idea.

If we go out for dinner and I drive, I don't drink, so I carry. If my wife drives, then she carries, so at least one of us has a CW. No big deal. We have the designated driver / who's going to carry question answered before we leave home. Get home, firearm in safe, then have a glass or two of wine of beer. Just use your head - if you carry, avoid drinking.

Don't do bars these days, and if they were wanding people, that is a place to avoid IMO as they must be wanding for a reason...
 
Negotiator said:
. Get home, firearm in safe, then have a glass or two of wine of beer. Just use your head - if you carry, avoid drinking.
QUOTE]


No offense, but if you have to lock up the firearms before you have a glass or two of wine or beer, maybe it's time to quit drinking. Do you lock up the car keys and tape off the stove controls as well?
Click to expand...
 

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