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Non-residents: Legal info on bringing guns into Mass. for competition or hunting

Update.....
So I was unable to talk to the FRB on the phone and emailed them instead. This is what I sent:

Dear Sir or Madam,
I'm trying to find out if it is legal for me to transport my handgun, (unloaded and locked in a hard case) from my home state's border (NH) to Logan airport for the purpose of flying to Arizona. I would also have to travel the opposite direction on my return trip. At no time while I'm in your state would the handgun be loaded or out of its locked case. I'm unsure if the Firearm Owners Protection Act covers this type of travel through your state and am looking for clarification. I do hold a NH LTC.

Thank you for your time and anticipated response,

And this was was the reply I got today.......

Transporting handgun

Sir,

Unless you have a Massachusetts LTC, the federal law does not appear to cover this type of travel.

Regards,
Michaela Dunne
Manager of Law Enforcement

Sooooo I'm going to fly out of Manchester not worth the potential headache......







 
Last edited:
Unlike NY and NJ, airline personnel in the MA airports don't generally call the police over for a "legality check" whenever someone checks a gun in luggage. I've flown out of Logan many times and the only time I had an issue was when I had to show paperwork to convince Air Canada that they were not transporting me to a Toronto jail.

The only time I received out of policy treatment was a clerk who demanded that I confirm gun and ammo were in separate pieces of luggage. This was before the high per-piece fees motivated me to stop using a separate gun case for the blasters.
 
So I received this reply from Ms. Dunne yesterday afternoon:

[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Thank you for the additional information. I should have been more clear in my response, and do apologize for the delay in responding.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif] [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Although my agency can not provide legal advice, Massachusetts does recognize 18 USC s. 926A, allowing for a person to …”[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,sans-serif]transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,sans-serif].”[/FONT][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif] However we can not speak to the training of any local law enforcement officers regarding this law, and encourage anyone in this situation to contact their airline and the airport for further guidance.[/FONT][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif] [/FONT][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Possession outside an exemption requires a LTC. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif] [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Further, please be aware of Revell v. Port Authority of NY and NJ, which provides guidance regarding re-claiming checked baggage as a result of a delayed flight, which may require a LTC.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif] [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Please let me know if you have any additional questions.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif] [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Thanks,[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Michaela

Well that certainly clears things up.....
[/FONT][/FONT]
 
With the amount of time you've wasted researching a non issue you could have just flown out of MHT if you're this worried about it.
 
I spoke with Michaela yesterday about this. Although FOPA SHOULD apply, we do have NY court saying otherwise and everything is open to interpretation. She attempted to clarify the situation in her second response above.
 
Has anything changed this year in regard to entering the State of MA with a firearm for competition?

Plan to travel from CT up to MA for the USPSA shoot in Monson on Sunday and just want to double check.


Pistol in range bag, with ammo (can mags be loaded?) and locked in the trunk.
 
CTjer said:
Has anything changed this year in regard to entering the State of MA with a firearm for competition?

Plan to travel from CT up to MA for the USPSA shoot in Monson on Sunday and just want to double check.


Pistol in range bag, with ammo (can mags be loaded?) and locked in the trunk.
Click to expand...

Nope still illegal to bring ANY handguns into MA w/o a MA NR LTC. Nothing is going to change either. Likelihood of getting caught and getting a felony charge is very low if you stay under the radar screen however. LEOs are currently being taught that MGL C. 140 S. 131G is a bogus exemption . . . non-existent as worded, period.
 
Len-2A Training said:
LEOs are currently being taught that MGL C. 140 S. 131G is a bogus exemption . . . non-existent as worded, period.
Click to expand...

Wait what? Can you elaborate on this? I have **** all intention of ever shooting a match in MA because of how bad the law as written sucks, but you're saying there's more?
 
peterthefish said:
Ok, I've read those, thought this was something new.

The A7 director provided some interesting guidance about 131G on another shooting site recently so thought there might be some new guidance on the topic.

2017 area 7 in MA???
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...page__view__findpost__p__2719879&share_type=t
Click to expand...

My info came directly from the FRB Director at the time and is based on the construction of the critical sentence in the cited law, it's basically from 9th grade English class.

When I went to the link, I get the top forum page for Brian Enos' forums, perhaps because I don't have an account there.

Regardless of illegality it is in the best interest of IDPA/USPSA to make believe that an exemption exists even when it doesn't. Matches would die if they followed the law and nobody from outside MA attended. Think about this, GSSF used to hold matches in MA (I am told) and stopped in 1998 when this law was passed . . . maybe because their lawyers actually understood the ramifications of that law on any future matches?
 
Do these laws (namely the ban on high capacity mags and "assault rifles") apply to a RI resident that is passing through MA to go to a RI shooting range?

I live in Providence and would be going to the Tiverton Gun Club. By far the fastest way is using route 195, passing through MA only. Firearams would be unloaded, locked, in cases in the trunk, separate from ammo in passenger cabin.

Thanks
 
James77 said:
Do these laws (namely the ban on high capacity mags and "assault rifles") apply to a RI resident that is passing through MA to go to a RI shooting range?

I live in Providence and would be going to the Tiverton Gun Club. By far the fastest way is using route 195, passing through MA only. Firearams would be unloaded, locked, in cases in the trunk, separate from ammo in passenger cabin.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Study FOPA and abide by it and you should be OK. The law is very specific about how you transport guns and ammos and is different than MGL. Those that have been jacked up in MA driving thru, were NOT in compliance with FOPA's transport requirements.
 
Len's take on the bogosity of the exemption hinges on the requirement that the state "prohibits the issuance of licenses to drug users", and that no state has a blanket prohibition. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever been jammed up on this - but I also don't know of any one who was found with a gun and used the exemption.

Wesson v, Fowler (the case that established that a minor MJ conviction is not a MA prohibitor) could provide some protection if someone was jammed up by this constraint ... maybe. The state seems to, in practice, not worry too much about that constraint.

The only state actor who was a proponent of this interpretation is no longer with MA govt, and I have not heard any subsequent public official express that position.

What I do commonly see, however, is people coming from states that do not require a license to possess a handgun who expand the exemption (in their mind) to mean "being from a no license state meets the has a license requirement". Nope, doesn't work that way.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
Len's take on the bogosity of the exemption hinges on the requirement that the state "prohibits the issuance of licenses to drug users", and that no state has a blanket prohibition. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever been jammed up on this - but I also don't know of any one who was found with a gun and used the exemption.

Wesson v, Fowler (the case that established that a minor MJ conviction is not a MA prohibitor) could provide some protection if someone was jammed up by this constraint ... maybe. The state seems to, in practice, not worry too much about that constraint.

The only state actor who was a proponent of this interpretation is no longer with MA govt, and I have not heard any subsequent public official express that position.

What I do commonly see, however, is people coming from states that do not require a license to possess a handgun who expand the exemption (in their mind) to mean "being from a no license state meets the has a license requirement". Nope, doesn't work that way.
Click to expand...

Rob, Glidden discussed this non-exemption to his 200 chiefs/LOs at the seminar he gave in 2014 that I attended. So he is teaching them about this issue.
 
Len-2A Training said:
Rob, Glidden discussed this non-exemption to his 200 chiefs/LOs at the seminar he gave in 2014 that I attended. So he is teaching them about this issue.
Click to expand...

Last year, I was specifically asked my Mass NR LTC during the revolver bear season (the requesting individual knew that I was a CT resident prior to making contact with me because of the plates on my vehicle).
 
Sorry to revive this necro thread but...
I am a NH resident. I want to travel with my over/under shotgun to a gunshop in Natick MA to have a stock fitting. The exemptions I have seen on different pages make mention of hunting and competition, etc, but this is for what I assume would be considered repair. I have a hatchback instead of a trunk, so I would use the Negrini locking case that for it. Am I covered?
Thanks.
 
Lunker said:
Sorry to revive this necro thread but...
I am a NH resident. I want to travel with my over/under shotgun to a gunshop in Natick MA to have a stock fitting. The exemptions I have seen on different pages make mention of hunting and competition, etc, but this is for what I assume would be considered repair. I have a hatchback instead of a trunk, so I would use the Negrini locking case that for it. Am I covered?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

That non-existent exemption does not apply to your case.

What does apply is the exemption for low capacity long guns, C. 140 S. 129(p). You are GTG with an over-under shotgun.
 
Picton said:
Wait.

If he’s not got an LTC, what was legal about that? Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
For a rifle it would be an FID, but he's relying on being a Virginia resident (and thus exempt). Except he's attending school in Boston, and trusting MA police to follow statutory law instead of common law and court rulings.

He could get seriously jacked up.
 
KBCraig said:
For a rifle it would be an FID, but he's relying on being a Virginia resident (and thus exempt). Except he's attending school in Boston, and trusting MA police to follow statutory law instead of common law and court rulings.

He could get seriously jacked up.
Click to expand...

They added to the story later. An important little mention that he’s got an NR LTC.
 

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