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Just a quick post for others on my recent experience with applying for a LTC in Boston.
My wife and I took our MA Pistol License test in early August. I called the BPD the next day and their next appointment was about a month out on Sept 17.
For that appointment, we took our course certificates, copies of our birth certificates, drivers' licenses and $100 each in cash for the fee. They provided a form for us to fill out there. We were finger-printed and then led into a back office and asked a series of questions about our backgrounds and had our pictures taken.
Just a note for any other ladies out there looking to get an LTC -- when they originally asked me if I'd gone by any other aliases, I said no. But then realized that they might want to know about a last name I had under another marriage. I was glad I asked, because the woman taking the information looked at me like I was nuts that I hadn't considered that an alias. She also seemed to think it was nuts that I'd lived in five different states in my life, but maybe she's just never left Massachusetts.
After the application process, they scheduled the Moon Island test. We could have gotten an appointment that week, but I was traveling so we took the next appointment which was Sept 27.
I was a little nervous about the range test itself. I grew up shooting guns and started hunting with my father when I was in kindergarten. I was shooting rabbits and squirrels and skinning them myself in grade school and got a 12 gauge shotgun for my 12th birthday. But the only handgun experience I've ever had is when I visit my dad in Nashville and go the range or shooting out in the woods with him.
As a woman (and office worker!) I also don't have the upper body strength I think it really takes to handle one of those .38 calibers that they use for the Moon Island test.
The range officers working the test though absolutely couldn't have been better. They made us feel welcomed, relaxed and absolutely seemed intent on helping everyone pass while ensuring that we were following gun safety guidelines. They didn't bat an eye at a same-sex couple coming in and gave my wife some good-natured ribbing for her very southern Virginia accent.
All in all, it was a great experience. I scored an ok-not-great 234 and my wife who hasn't shot a handgun in years got a 239. It takes a 210 to pass, so I was happy to have gotten through it.
That all said, I'd highly recommend that any woman or even another same-sex couple go through the process without being nervous about it or scared about how you'll be treated. It's absolutely crazy that Boston makes you go through all of these hoops, but it's definitely your right and you should exercise it.
My wife and I took our MA Pistol License test in early August. I called the BPD the next day and their next appointment was about a month out on Sept 17.
For that appointment, we took our course certificates, copies of our birth certificates, drivers' licenses and $100 each in cash for the fee. They provided a form for us to fill out there. We were finger-printed and then led into a back office and asked a series of questions about our backgrounds and had our pictures taken.
Just a note for any other ladies out there looking to get an LTC -- when they originally asked me if I'd gone by any other aliases, I said no. But then realized that they might want to know about a last name I had under another marriage. I was glad I asked, because the woman taking the information looked at me like I was nuts that I hadn't considered that an alias. She also seemed to think it was nuts that I'd lived in five different states in my life, but maybe she's just never left Massachusetts.
After the application process, they scheduled the Moon Island test. We could have gotten an appointment that week, but I was traveling so we took the next appointment which was Sept 27.
I was a little nervous about the range test itself. I grew up shooting guns and started hunting with my father when I was in kindergarten. I was shooting rabbits and squirrels and skinning them myself in grade school and got a 12 gauge shotgun for my 12th birthday. But the only handgun experience I've ever had is when I visit my dad in Nashville and go the range or shooting out in the woods with him.
As a woman (and office worker!) I also don't have the upper body strength I think it really takes to handle one of those .38 calibers that they use for the Moon Island test.
The range officers working the test though absolutely couldn't have been better. They made us feel welcomed, relaxed and absolutely seemed intent on helping everyone pass while ensuring that we were following gun safety guidelines. They didn't bat an eye at a same-sex couple coming in and gave my wife some good-natured ribbing for her very southern Virginia accent.
All in all, it was a great experience. I scored an ok-not-great 234 and my wife who hasn't shot a handgun in years got a 239. It takes a 210 to pass, so I was happy to have gotten through it.
That all said, I'd highly recommend that any woman or even another same-sex couple go through the process without being nervous about it or scared about how you'll be treated. It's absolutely crazy that Boston makes you go through all of these hoops, but it's definitely your right and you should exercise it.
![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
[Also a comment my Wife (born/lived in Boston until we were married) made about my fellow alumni from Randolph High School, where most of my classmates intermarried with other Randolphians.]
![[popcorn]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/043.gif "Popcorn [popcorn]")
