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Old FID Card
- Thread starter jes5653
- Start date
Your "lifetime" FID was no longer valid with the passage of Ch180/GCA98. You'll have to take an approved safety course, and reapply.
FWIW, the requirements for an LTC are practically the same as for an FID, so you may as well apply for one of those.
FWIW, the requirements for an LTC are practically the same as for an FID, so you may as well apply for one of those.
If an individual was licensed on 6/1/98, no safety course is required...
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eopster...mr300_instructors_course_surrender&csid=Eeops
Hmm. Interesting. For some reason I thought it worked like hunting licenses, and a 12 y/o expired one wouldn't work, but it's good to know that it will.
Thanks.
Number 6
NES Member
This burns really burns me that the government thinks nothing about waiting their magical fiat scepter and doing this.
Can you imagine if a Costco or BJs issued lifetime memberships and then one day said, 'they're no longer lifetime...and you must pay for them every 3 years going forward."
Martha would swoop down on them like the wraith of god for unconscionable business practices. I guess those don't apply to the state.
Can you imagine if a Costco or BJs issued lifetime memberships and then one day said, 'they're no longer lifetime...and you must pay for them every 3 years going forward."
Martha would swoop down on them like the wraith of god for unconscionable business practices. I guess those don't apply to the state.
Per MGLs, true, BUT many chiefs do NOT abide by this (big surprise . . . NOT!) and will require a course. Only way to know is pay a visit to your local chief with FID in-hand and ask.
See above. "Reality" oftentimes has nothing to do with the law!
![[rolleyes]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/042.gif "Roll Eyes [rolleyes]")
Gov is ALWAYS exempt from the laws that they pass for the masses!
![[thinking]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/010.gif "Thinking [thinking]")
![[angry]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/008.gif "Angry [angry]")
You are right, normal folks or businesses could never get away with this stuff . . . but Gov always gets a "pass" on their abuses.
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yanici
NES Member
Read LenS's post directly above yours. It clearly states that you should take a walk over to your PD and ask. Thing is that you might not like the answer. Good luck.
MisterHappy
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I know someone that had the "forever" FID get expired, and since they had a varsity letter in Riflery, that was considered "good enough". After all, if they'd got the memo, and renewed as soon as the old one went bad, they would not have had to take the course.
Some PDs are more mellow, YMMV
Some PDs are more mellow, YMMV
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By MGLs we were all grandfathered. But under "suitability" and "chief's discretion" they can demand whatever they wish and most judges would go along with them as being "reasonable" (even if we think otherwise)! Thus the problem.
I still have my old FID the the "indefinate" expiration date (Ha!). I never got a notice about them expiring it but I wasn't actively involved with shooting at the time. I had a shotgun and an old .22 locked up in deep storage at my folks house. I thought about it at the beginning of the year and decided to check out the status of my FID and perhaps get a handgun. What a surprise.... Things really changed from the 80's. When I went to get my LTC they still had me in the system, so they put me in for an upgrade and everything turned out fine (I did take a NRA basic pistol safety course for familiarization and...safety). After doing a lot of reading about mass gun laws I can't believe the position I had placed my folks in without either of us knowing about it..
DickWanner
Banned
They didn't notify anyone, turning thousands of law-abiding citizens into criminals in a single instance.
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Consider it a tribute to the value of a promise from the state:
"It's no big deal, the FID will only cost $2.00 and be good for life"
* - Not certain of the amount, but it was originally nominal
"It's no big deal, the FID will only cost $2.00 and be good for life"
* - Not certain of the amount, but it was originally nominal
I'd recommend applying for both if you can afford it. LTC's can be revoked randomly, FID's cannot.
If all you want is an FID, yes. If you want an LTC (what you'll need in order to lawfully purchase/possess a handgun 99% of the time), then maybe.
Just to be clear, this is only true with LTC's. FID's are shall issue and the chief can't demand anything other than statutory requirements for issuance. But in most cases you'd be right, because an LTC opens more ownership doors than an FID.
I believe they sent out something in the mail, but didn't do a very good job of it. Peter Manso claimed to be a guy who had no idea that the laws had changed.
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/43200-Indictment-for-Manso-weapons-confiscated
Not true. ALL FID (and LTC) holders in effect on 6/1/1998 (reasonably sure of month/day) were grandfathered and an upgrade from FID to LTC does NOT require (by MGL) any training cert. Many chiefs won't go along with this, but that is the law.
I know it! I was in WM probably ~6 months ago when a guy tried to buy ammo with a horse-blanket FID . . . it was a lifetime FID and he had no clue that he was in violation of the law. He explained that his BIL always bought the ammo for both of them, so this was his first attempt to buy ammo in MA in a very, very long time!
I know a few people who told me that post-GCA98 they weren't going to bother with all that BS and just kept their guns, unlicensed. They were strictly hunters who had a few long guns, not really shooters.
I would guess that there are >100,000 MA residents out there with guns and no license (other than the expired "lifetime" FID)!
![[shocked]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/007.gif "Shocked [shocked]")
As for the person who Brian King told to just "throw it away" (the old FID) . . . if you do that you could be successfully prosecuted and go to jail. That old, expired FID makes possession ONLY a civil offense with a fine, whereas no proof of any old expired license makes one a FELON with graybar hotel implications. How much do you trust the police to "do the right thing"?
One guy in Concord, MA avoided jail only because he was able to produce proof of an old, expired FID. I heard his testimony in front of the Jt. Comm on Public Safety . . . he kept the FID in his rifle case, had inquired about getting a new license, Concord PD held him and went to his house, confiscated his rifle case (with FID) and refused to give him the FID to use in his defense (they charged him with criminal possession of firearms without any license). He eventually had to get proof thru CHSB to use in his defense. Ended up in a civil lawsuit against the PD (outcome unknown to me).
MisterHappy
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Yeah, that's pretty bad.... it's also a woeful reminder that you never, ever, want to show any PD your hand of cards. There are a lot of people in this state that have probably called up an anti PD and said something stupid like "Yeah, I have an old FID and I need to renew it, I have a bunch of old rifles and shotguns..." and then the waffen SS pull up, and the dowd extortion warehouse van/truck/whatever pulls up to steal the guns... The only exception I would ever make to this rule is if I knew the licensing officer on a personal level and knew that he wouldn't jab a knife in my back. Otherwise, PD's in MA should always be kept at arms length regarding licensing matters- especially if you haven't dealt with that PD before.
-Mike
The only exception I would ever make to this rule is if I knew the licensing officer on a personal level and knew that he wouldn't jab a knife in my back. Otherwise, PD's in MA should always be kept at arms length regarding licensing matters- especially if you haven't dealt with that PD before. -Mike
