I just want to know if any one with a badge in the state of Massachusetts can legally look up specifically which and how many firearms I own. Just for their own personal knowledge. Also if they are allowed to go around and disclose that information with anyone they choose.
1. No and BTW they don't need a badge. I have access to that info and I do not carry a badge. However, and this is a big HOWEVER there has to be a legally justifiable reason for doing so. Case support in the during an investigation of a crime, information about a person of interest relative to the commission of a crime, reasonable suspicion regarding the behavior of an individual observed, are all legal reasons that LEOs and others on the CJ system might want to check to see if a person has a LTC or FID and what types of firearms this person might own. Domestic violence complaints and threats against others probably top the list. If post on FaceBook that you are going to harm a public official, LE is going to check to see if you have firearms. Naturally only those firearms that were acquired via the FA10 are the ones that are going to show up.
One thing, and frankly it gets old, is this obsession that many of you have is that LE is obsessed with gun owners and law abiding citizens in general. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is enough real crime out there to keep the coppers busy. The egregious violations of privacy and strictly illegal is finding out the addresses of hot looking women. It happens and if caught, the penalties can be severe.
As a caveat, I think a lot of people are very nervous around the police and that nervousness shows. Like Stalin is supposed to have said: "Everybody is guilty of something" where the average citizen will screw up is doing something stupid. They become low hanging fruit, an easy arrest, an easy case, plea out, becomes an easy win-win stat for both the coppers and the DA. As a general rule be courteous, don't volunteer information (in Mass do not volunteer if you are carrying unless asked and if asked don't lie, exception: if you are told to exit the vehicle and then state: I have a Mass LTC and I am carrying it (don't even say gun or firearm) how do you want me to proceed ?" YMMV I realize. Don't consent to a search of your vehicle.
Don't resist or argue either, if you think you have been jammed up, you really can get things sorted out later and not every cop walks after a citizen complaint. Believe it or not disciplinary files are maintained and people are reprimanded, careers are affected, and punishments are imposed. Most of you want blood and the cop's job if he or she calls you a low life MF or something , but a two day suspension without pay and a letter of reprimand is probably appropriate. Fire a cop over something like and you have to spend thousands recruiting and training a replacement.
Michael Brown would be alive today if he had been compliant. At most he would have been charged with petty larceny which would have probably been pled down to something even lower with no jail time or maybe probation.
Remember if you look like food you will be eaten. If you look like an easy arrest, you will be arrested, but the cops are not out to get you per se, and do not go searching thru CJIS randomly looking to see if Joe Schmukatelli in Pembroke has guns, there just isn't that much time or interest, even on a slow mid shift. At worst, why look up Joe when there was that hot red head that they stopped last Tuesday? Right
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
![[rofl]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/013.gif "ROFL [rofl]")
