Does MA know?

[Gabe]

If a MA resident with a MA LTC purchases a long gun from another state, does any governmental entity in MA know this?

I know we are supposed to file an FA10 if we purchase a long gun out of state, this is not my question. My question is, Does anyone in MA know when you do purchase a long gun out of state? Obviously they do when you tell them, but is there any mechanism to alert MA otherwise?

I know you are run through NICS when buying a long gun, but this is exclusively a Federal thing, right? Does anything, any artifact, from the NICS process make its way to MA, or is it kept entirely separate?

I also am aware that owning an unregistered long gun is a criminal offense, this is not my question either.

 

[drgrant]

No. The only way they would is if the out of state dealer files an FA-10
or something on your purchase, which they shouldn't be doing anyways, but
I've heard of it happening a few times. (Kittery?). Otherwise if you're
buying from a free state the 4473 stays with the dealer. The NICS check
itself says nothing about the gun you bought, so even NICS only knows
that so and so bought a long gun on such and such a day, but that information
is supposed to get purged out of the system after (90?) days. None of that
information is normally ever divulged without a warrant/subpeona/ATF being involved.

All the long guns I've bought out of state only involved a 4473, and that
was it. When I brought them back to mass I registered them on an
FA-10 sent to CHSB with "REGISTRATION" checked off.

The practical reality is that unless you do this, MA will never know. (I don't
really advocate this, for obvious reasons. )

Under normal circumstances the only way MA would know that you bought
a rifle in another state is through either the aformentioned scenario, or some
LE agency in MA is running a criminal investigation on you where they've
managed to subpeona records from a dealer or something... (And since
there are numerous fed laws making that thorny, I find that highly unlikely
to get devulged without a lower level LE agency having to get the ATF involved).

This isn't a catch all, either.... some free states may have sales records
which their laws govern, etc. Most free states do not have any at
all, so this is mostly a moot point.

-Mike

 

[vellnueve]

Also should add that it IS possible to own an unregistered firearm if you move into the state with said firearm.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Unregistered . . . or the state destroyed the records. [If interested, do Advanced Search on Gun Laws forum for history.]

Other ways the "state" may find out and decide to prosecute you:

- Gun is subject to a "trace" that leads to you from out-of-state dealer. They usually work with the local LEOs and if someone asks "why not registered" you'll need a damn good reason to keep out of trouble.

- Gun is stolen and you report it as such. During investigation, you are asked "uncomfortable" questions.

So, not impossible to get away with it, but if "Murphy comes calling", Bubba may not be far behind!

 

[chuckster]

Lens, how far back do they go? I have some long guns I purchased 40+ yrs. ago. Two I purchased from dealers, two I purchased from private sales. Do I need to be concerned about these purchases. Thanks.
Chuck

 

[vellnueve]

In short, you don't need to be concerned about any of this until you attract police attention. If they ever have reason to question your registration, your guns are probably gone anyway.

GCA was 1968, so (and please note that this could be very wrong as I just woke up from a nap and am groggy) if you bought them over 40 years ago you likely don't have to be worried because they won't have 4473s of those guns. And again, if they ever have reason to question this you're probably screwed.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Vellnueve is right!

If you search here you'll learn all the answers to this question.

Cliff Notes Version:

MA didn't computerize any of the FA-10s or blue cards until 1998.

MA destroyed ALL blue cards (private transfers) in 1998. Thus, THEY have no record of your transfers. NOT YOUR PROBLEM!!

MA computerized FA-10s (dealer records only) ONLY from 1986 onward. Again, if you bought it pre this date, NOT YOUR PROBLEM!

If police/BATFE start asking all sorts of questions about your source of guns bought ages ago, perhaps "lawyering up" would be a smart move.

If you have the old blue cards or FA-10s, you MIGHT opt to give them a copy when they take your guns . . . or not! [I'm anal, I still have copies of ALL my purchases and private sales, dating back to 1976.]

 

[vellnueve]

Vellnueve is right!

 

[M1911]

I'm anal, I still have copies of ALL my purchases and private sales, dating back to 1976.

I have copies of all of my purchases and sales (private and via FFL).

It's worth keeping the documents. A fellow that I know received a letter from the FBI. It stated that a gun belonging to him was recovered at a crime seen 8+ years ago. Yup, they were just getting around to telling him that 8 years later.

He thought that was rather interesting, because the gun identified in the letter was still in his safe...

You can still end up under scrutiny even if you never did anything wrong. I recommend dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's.