Guide To Gun Rights in your MA Town - 2020 + Edition

drgrant

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This is a replacement for THIS thread which is ancient and somewhat outdated


Things have changed, in 2021 there are very few full on red towns anymore.

What we need here is feedback, and I will update the posts here with an index.

Some constraints: Only new app experiences are really useful. Renewals almost don't count, HOWEVER, I'll make an exception.... if some town gives you shit renewing, makes it hard to obtain a receipt, or some other possibly obstructionist BS, it should be noted.

Towns should be rated Bright Green / Green / Yellow / Red

Bright Green is only awarded if they don't have unnecessary requirements on 1st issue. (eg, most towns will not get bright green, because they require reference letters, which is NOT in the law!) you get the
idea.


Frequently asked Question of all time: "Will Town X downgrade me on renewal or on the fly if I move in with an unrestricted LTC?"

Most towns, even the Shitty Mc Shit towns, DO NOT do this. That said, BE CAREFUL. Septic Tank Shit towns like Brookline? I would be shocked if they didn
downgrade you.... but others like Cambridge, or Medford do not downgrade move ins. Even notorious shit towns like Watertown supposedly stopped doing this.

I think most of them stopped doing this shit because it sets them up to get sued and be in a bad position. It's much easier for them to abuse new people with no license time under
their belts.

There should be 3 categories of rating:

General (eg, restrictive vs not, restricted vs unrestricted etc then

Administrative (how hard it is to get an appointment etc) and also

Suitability. Suitability is difficult because most people don't have problems. But if some c*** town says "bweah you ahve a DUI from 900 years ago that shouldnt count, but we still hate you" we want to know because we want to put them on the list and mark it as such.

This is the phirst poast, the 2nd one will be the actual town list with ratings. Phirst post will also be used for link to Comm2A scoreboards/cards etc. When I can get my hands on such info/links....

ETA: Thanks to @Mesatchornug I have attached the 2017 Comm2a Scorecard to this post, if someone has a newer one, I will add/update it.

ETA2: Also added state license total # link, etc... here... also see attachments for backup

 

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  • 2017 LTC Scorecard.pdf
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  • Firearms Licenses Active on 01.01.21.xlsx
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  • Firearms Licenses Active on 04 01 20.xlsx
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second poast TOWN LIST please provide info I will update this post with it.

For sanity sake, 2015+ experiences only. Lets keep the data quality better by keeping it current. What happened 10 years ago is not really useful anymore in terms of rankings

If an entry is bolded (town name) then it means that data is very fresh or considered high reliability.


Town: General Ranking: Administrative Ranking: Suitability Ranking:

EOPS/MSP (Nonresidents):
Yellow ( SOME new people still getting restricted - Red (they're slow as ass - Suitability issues unknown. Need more data.
*NOTE- as of covid land era, EOPS/CJIS is taking annual renewals by mail finally.


Acton - Green

Andover - need moar data - may be Green

Attleboro - unknown WRT restrictions, but got 2 reports of severe ass dragging on new apps.

Arlington- Green - Slow - Even issues MG license to 03 holders, but may still require dog and pony show for storage.

Billerica - Yellow - Age discriminates to T&H on under 25. No MG licenses.

Boston - Red, still pretty f***ing bad, however large # of unrestricteds indicate Boston is "hackable" to produce a desired outcome.
2021 update - as of last posting Boston is still turtling and f***ing up new apps and renewals. Lots of dragging ass.
*ETA: 2021 - Boston no longer does moon island test, still requires club membership for app though*


Brockton - Yellow - will unrestrict new apps after X? years. Need updated info.

Brookline - Red Garbage all the way around. Was requiring range test? May also f*** up move ins. STAY AWAY. (or move out).

Cambridge - Red, "Box Town" only issues new unrestricted/protection to people who fit in the box.

Canton - Green (still waiting minor details)

Everett - Unknown. Town had massive problems TURTLING on license apps, unsure if this has been resolved or not.

Fall River - We'll Try Green. but requires reference letters for new apps, LO decent, but slow processing.
2 ppl have confirmed that FR is slow as ass on new apps, but also will issue MG license to 03 holders .
FR used to be total garbage years ago, so this is still improved.

Fitchburg - Green on most fronts, even suitability. May be difficult to get appointment (due to timing etc) but LO is excellent.

Framingham - Green, previous reports of suitability retardation though (this may be ancient history, need more data)

Gardner - Green but beware of potential suitability issues and "prickly" stuff. Gardner PD people involved in legal issues with anti-2a overtones (some guy with large cap magazines)

Groton - Green

Harvard - Bright Green + willing to issue MG licenses to 03 holders

Haverhill - May be green, waiting feedback

Leominster - Green - Requires letters for new apps, LO is typically very responsive

Littleton - Green

Lowell - Red - Shit Town - Will issue unrestricted to first timers but only if you jump through their flaming hoops as described here:
Unrestricted License to Carry (LTC) | Lowell, MA


Medford - Red - at least for new apps, will RESTRICT, with possible lifting of restrictions with swan song letter later. Will not downgrade move ins.

Newton - new chief, Green (according to posts here)

Northhampton - Green -

Plymouth - Green, but requires letters of recommendation for new apps.

Quincy - As of 2020, Yellow - only due to age discrimination on under 25s being forced to T&H restrictions. Update with recent info necessary.

Shirley - Green

Waltham - Green
 
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To start it off. This is a couple years old but I know for certain nothing has changed. Same chief. Same admin doing the processing, etc. Harvard. Bright Green. State application. No extra requirements. Unrestricted license given. They are damn fast (< 40 days when my son applied). They also give green cards to anyone with an 03 with no issue. Couldn't be better.
 
To start it off. This is a couple years old but I know for certain nothing has changed. Same chief. Same admin doing the processing, etc. Harvard. Bright Green. State application. No extra requirements. Unrestricted license given. They are damn fast (< 40 days when my son applied). They also give green cards to anyone with an 03 with no issue. Couldn't be better.

Thanks, I decided to add in a thing in the 2nd post, I think anything going back to 2015 is worthwhile, at least in the absence of newer data, so I noted that in the 2nd post.
 
. in 2019 was green. Took 35 days to have LTC in hand.

Not sure if the reference letter was required or not, but I had brought them and he didn't mention anything about them
 
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This is the phirst poast, the 2nd one will be the actual town list with ratings. Phirst post will also be used for link to Comm2A scoreboards/cards etc. When I can get my hands on such info/links....
2017 scorecard. Not finding the earlier ones quickly. (I have them on my PC, but I know that's not the same)

If it's helpful, from the horse's mouth:
Massachusetts Gun Transactions - 2006-2020
Firearms Licenses Active on April 1, 2021
Firearms Licenses Issued 2006 through 2020
 
Billerica will only issue restricted T&H to those under 25. They will lift restrictions the day you turn 25 though.

They will not issue MG license no matter what.

So I guess that's green but borderline yellow...
 
Red and Green based on restricted or unrestricted is all well and good, but I think it would be helpful to know who has added requirements and who issues based on the law.

I think many are pushing for extra hoops to jump through and not keeping an eye on this will only set up a situation where extra requirements are "normal".
 
This is awesome. If people are willing to add provide the information, can it be standard practice to note which towns are comfortable issuing an MG license? I’m currently going through that *fun* with Fall River lol.
 
This is awesome. If people are willing to add provide the information, can it be standard practice to note which towns are comfortable issuing an MG license? I’m currently going through that *fun* with Fall River lol.

Will definetly add green card info if people post it, but be aware i think some people aren't forthcoming about that because in some places there might be a "i don't want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg" thing in play.
 
Will definetly add green card info if people post it, but be aware i think some people aren't forthcoming about that because in some places there might be a "i don't want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg" thing in play.

Very true!
At the very least, there's this document, which lists license types by town, including MG.

[ETA - for posterity, in case the link breaks, here are the 4/2020 and 1/2021 versions of that document]
 

Attachments

  • Firearms Licenses Active on 04 01 20.xlsx
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  • Firearms Licenses Active on 01.01.21.xlsx
    38.9 KB · Views: 63
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Northampton - Green. ..got license in 2018...from call for appt to submit app to license In hand about 21 days..only issue ALP per their instructions...very efficient
 
Waltham - green. Wifey had no problem getting unrestricted 2-3 years ago, first time applicant.
 
Attleboro - dropped off packet 3/30/21 and was told to wait to called to get fingerprinted. As of 6/1/21 still waiting.
 
Friend in Medway: Oct 8th interview - Nov 4th LTC received - no restrictions. First time application. Green for Medway
-mike
 
Red and Green based on restricted or unrestricted is all well and good, but I think it would be helpful to know who has added requirements and who issues based on the law.

I think many are pushing for extra hoops to jump through and not keeping an eye on this will only set up a situation where extra requirements are "normal".

I disagree, most towns have less bullshit than they've ever had up front in the past 20 years I've been watching this. There used to be dozens of shit towns now we're well under a dozen in the whole state. That said, we need more data, if anything to keep tabs on hidden douche towns. There are towns in MA that are "green only because they don't want to go to court" and people should know about them.

ETA: There is covidiocy that makes some of this less clear, obviously. But now that shit show is over, that should go away.
 
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Past 6 months. My wife took the safety class, applied, and 6 months later got her class a unrestricted on her first try.

I remember Andover or North Andover was shit at one point, not sure if this had changed or not.
 
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