I've been reading the posts here for a few months now, and I'm still confused (join the crowd, you say! about how the 1994 hi-cap magazine ban, the 1998 law change, purchases, sales, gifts, etc. all interact. I've seen numerous (very informative!) posts here that each talk about a piece here or a piece there, but it would be nice to see something that brings a bunch of things together. So here's my attempt at asking a bunch of questions that I (and hopefully other newbies) would like to understand better.
For the first set of questions, forget about magazine issues. I'll have questions about that later
(1) A handgun bought through an MA dealer has to either be pre-1998 or has to be on the EOPS and AG's lists ("The Lists")?
(2) If one wants to buy a handgun out-of-state (or over the internet) either from a dealer or from a non-MA private individual, the gun has to go through an MA-based FFL and has to either be pre-1998 or be on The Lists? Or is the question moot because doing so is simply not allowed?
(3) If a non-MA friend/relative/etc. wants to give you a bona fide gift of a handgun, how do you get it into MA? Do you still have to go through a MA FFL? Does the gun still have to be pre-1998 or be on The Lists?
(4) What about if you inherit the guns from a non-MA person? (I know this was addressed in an excellent thread some months ago, but I wanted to get that answer into this thread along with the other answers).
(5) If you lived in state A and owned post-1998 handguns that are NOT on The Lists and (for whatever inexplicable reason moved to MA, are you allowed to bring in the guns?
(6) Do The Lists apply if you are given or purchase a handgun from a MA private individual who legally possesses the gun in MA?
(7) If you are a resident of MA, but have a 2nd home in a more sane state (say VT or NH, for example), can you (a) buy handguns not on The Lists and keep them in your 2nd home, and (b) if you can, is there any legal way to subsequently bring them to MA?
(8) Can handgun ammunition be purchased from an out of state vendor? If I in person buy ammo out of state can I legally bring it into MA?
The next questions go into the high-cap magazine issue. If the answer to (9) is "yes", then the rest are moot and there's no point in answering them.
(9) Is the high-cap magazine ban as simple as "if the magazine was manufactured after the ban date and holds more than 10 rounds, it's illegal to possess it, no matter what", or are there exceptions?
(10) Along the lines of (3), can someone from out of state give you a bona fide gift of post-ban high-cap mags?
(11) Along the lines of (5), if you own post-ban high-cap mags and move to MA, what happens to them?
(12) Along the lines of (4), what happens if you inherit post-ban high-cap mags?
Thanks, as always!
For the first set of questions, forget about magazine issues. I'll have questions about that later
(1) A handgun bought through an MA dealer has to either be pre-1998 or has to be on the EOPS and AG's lists ("The Lists")?
(2) If one wants to buy a handgun out-of-state (or over the internet) either from a dealer or from a non-MA private individual, the gun has to go through an MA-based FFL and has to either be pre-1998 or be on The Lists? Or is the question moot because doing so is simply not allowed?
(3) If a non-MA friend/relative/etc. wants to give you a bona fide gift of a handgun, how do you get it into MA? Do you still have to go through a MA FFL? Does the gun still have to be pre-1998 or be on The Lists?
(4) What about if you inherit the guns from a non-MA person? (I know this was addressed in an excellent thread some months ago, but I wanted to get that answer into this thread along with the other answers).
(5) If you lived in state A and owned post-1998 handguns that are NOT on The Lists and (for whatever inexplicable reason moved to MA, are you allowed to bring in the guns?
(6) Do The Lists apply if you are given or purchase a handgun from a MA private individual who legally possesses the gun in MA?
(7) If you are a resident of MA, but have a 2nd home in a more sane state (say VT or NH, for example), can you (a) buy handguns not on The Lists and keep them in your 2nd home, and (b) if you can, is there any legal way to subsequently bring them to MA?
(8) Can handgun ammunition be purchased from an out of state vendor? If I in person buy ammo out of state can I legally bring it into MA?
The next questions go into the high-cap magazine issue. If the answer to (9) is "yes", then the rest are moot and there's no point in answering them.
(9) Is the high-cap magazine ban as simple as "if the magazine was manufactured after the ban date and holds more than 10 rounds, it's illegal to possess it, no matter what", or are there exceptions?
(10) Along the lines of (3), can someone from out of state give you a bona fide gift of post-ban high-cap mags?
(11) Along the lines of (5), if you own post-ban high-cap mags and move to MA, what happens to them?
(12) Along the lines of (4), what happens if you inherit post-ban high-cap mags?
Thanks, as always!