Incident in Quincy

The roommate's charges were pretty basic, the LTC holder's charge is non-existant, either dreamed up or misreported.
 
Assault & Battery? I don't get that one at all. Are they claiming Perry deliberately fired the gun at the neighbor through the floor/ceiling?

Mass law provides that a non-(gun)licensed person can hold/possess a gun if a licensed person is present. so, for Perry to be charged with unlawful possession, King must not have been there. However, King has been charged with improper use, but he is not the one who shot the gun, so how could he have used it improperly. Further, MA law requires guns to be locked up when not under the licensee's direct control, so King ought to have been charged with unlawful storage if his roomie could get to the gun. There is a lot of contradiction here. Why did they take king's license if perry is the wrongdoer?
 
Assault & Battery? I don't get that one at all. Are they claiming Perry deliberately fired the gun at the neighbor through the floor/ceiling?

Mass law provides that a non-(gun)licensed person can hold/possess a gun if a licensed person is present. so, for Perry to be charged with unlawful possession, King must not have been there. However, King has been charged with improper use, but he is not the one who shot the gun, so how could he have used it improperly. Further, MA law requires guns to be locked up when not under the licensee's direct control, so King ought to have been charged with unlawful storage if his roomie could get to the gun. There is a lot of contradiction here. Why did they take king's license if perry is the wrongdoer?

My bet is someone ran their mouth to the cops and the charges are likely a distillation of that.

-Mike
 
Thats the beauty of MA, they don't need a reason. When something like this happens, they can just take the firearm/LTC on suitability alone if they would like. Whats all the whining here? Its for the children.

I think in most cases an ND would result in someone's permit getting yanked if the cops were summoned, but even then, most NDs don't result in injury... this one did, and
to a third party.

One huge problem with MA's licensing system is it creates this air of "responsibility" whether real or imagined via the Chief. So it creates a scenario where even a green chief might view someone as a political liability if they have an ND resulting in the injury of a third party. Doesn't make it right, but I would wager that even in a fully 110% green town, preserving a license might be difficult in the aftermath of an ND, even one that doesn't hurt anyone.

I'd say improper storage could be the official "reason" but I'm still not clear on whether King was present in the apt at the time or not. To me if he was present, since he holds a license, Perry can handle the gun in Kings presence. If Perry goes and does something unexpected/stupid with it, how can King be responsible? Not saying its ever a good idea to let somebody who might be less than responsible handle your gun, especially in MA, but its not illegal.

I can think of a dozen or so things the gun owner could have said while running his mouth to the police that would have resulted in the charges landing how they did. I doubt it was anything like "Well, I was showing so and so my gun and I let him hold it while supervising him, but I did not notice his finger wandered into the trigger guard and he suddenly pulled the trigger causing the gun to fire a shot into the floor"

-Mike
 
I think in most cases an ND would result in someone's permit getting yanked ...

The primary exception to those cases is if the ND happens to a badge wearer. Then, he'll get additional training, and any LTC he might have for private use would not even be considered.
 
So the police captain of Quincy is quoted as believing that if you aim a gun at a wall it will jerk up and hit the floor? Do I have that right?
He may have said that. Or it may have been a misquote.

I was once interviewed by a senior New York Times reporter. The quotations that appeared in his article bore no resemblance to anything that I said or implied -- he just made up quotations to fit the story he wanted to write.

If the reporter spells your name correctly, he's having a good day. Any further accuracy in the story likely got there simply by chance.
 
The Metrowest Daily News did a story on my son, when he got his Distinguished Expert in Trap ( being 11, it was cool) and I offered to review the reporter's article for technical accuracy; she was appreciative, and incorporated all my "edits."

Different world from the Times, but still.....
 
He may have said that. Or it may have been a misquote.

I was once interviewed by a senior New York Times reporter. The quotations that appeared in his article bore no resemblance to anything that I said or implied -- he just made up quotations to fit the story he wanted to write.

If the reporter spells your name correctly, he's having a good day. Any further accuracy in the story likely got there simply by chance.

I've had the same experience each time I've been quoted in the paper. I now politely explain to reporters that I've been misquoted in the past and I don't take it lightly anymore. I haven't been quoted since.
 
The Metrowest Daily News did a story on my son, when he got his Distinguished Expert in Trap ( being 11, it was cool) and I offered to review the reporter's article for technical accuracy; she was appreciative, and incorporated all my "edits."

Different world from the Times, but still.....
In my case, the misquotes didn't have anything to do with any technical issue whatsoever. He made up quotes that were diametrically opposed from what I said. The [strike]reporter[/strike] fiction writer decided what story he wanted to write, and when my responses didn't fit with his story line, he made up ones that did.
 
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I have a surefired way to keep from being misquoted. Never, Ever give your name to, speak directly to or speak within ear shot of the press and keep your back to their cameras.
 
I learned a long time ago that newspapers and accuracy are two different animals altogether.Once in a while, a newspaper will have a skillful reporter but that's a rarity.
 
Further, MA law requires guns to be locked up when not under the licensee's direct control, so King ought to have been charged with unlawful storage if his roomie could get to the gun.

If King was not there, its definitely improper storage.

Be careful with this logic guys.

So the police captain of Quincy is quoted as believing that if you aim a gun at a wall it will jerk up and hit the floor? Do I have that right?

The way I read that, a firearms novice will often jerk the trigger or anticipate the recoil, causing the bullet to strike off-target.

The primary exception to those cases is if the ND happens to a badge wearer. Then, he'll get additional training, and any LTC he might have for private use would not even be considered.

That's definitely not true in Mass.
 
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