Question about non-LTC holders at home

[dcmdon]

Thanks so much for the "heads-up". Looks like the registration date has passed, so I will just have to make sure I stay under the proverbial radar on this now. Other people have posted that the only reason for this FA-10 is to aid in police confiscation, which obviously is not a good thing in this rabidly anti-gun state. What the MA government doesn't know that I have in my small arms locker might not be a bad thing. I noticed many MA residents (MA plates on their vehicles) buying rifles and shotguns in NH and ME. Wonder how many know about the FA-10 rule? How many have actually been arrested for not being in compliance with it? You seem to know quite a bit about the MA law, so I hope you do not mind my asking. Never dealt with this before. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Tom

You are kidding right? You just incriminated yourself in a searchable, open, public internet forum. Your IP address is traceable. If anyone in the Government wants to know who you are, it will take them about 3 minutes to figure it out.

Normally, I'd say if you've owned it for years to just forget about it. But given what you've said so far, it might be a good idea to do an FA10.

Len?

 

[TOM1960]

You are kidding right? You just incriminated yourself in a searchable, open, public internet forum. Your IP address is traceable. If anyone in the Government wants to know who you are, it will take them about 3 minutes to figure it out.

Normally, I'd say if you've owned it for years to just forget about it. But given what you've said so far, it might be a good idea to do an FA10.

Len?

I might be a middle-ager (geezer to the young set) but I am computer-savvy enough not to use a smartphone in my own name to post on any public forum. No, actually my smartphone is under an assumed name. Had some personal problems in the past (not criminal) and needed some anonymity, if you know what I mean. It will assuredly take longer than "3 minutes" to track it. But that is neither here nor there. I was asking about FA-10 forms, because when I got the FID, the cops didn't mention it, firearms dealers didn't mention it, and my many friends who are also gun owners never mentioned it or even casually discussed it. Just asking a question, that's all. Perhaps you are correct; just forget about it. Too much time has passed anyways. The less Big Brother knows, the better. I wish to thank Mr. LenS and the others who answered my inquiry.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Perhaps Len could answer this one.

If the offense if "failure to file an FA10 within 7 days", would a statute of limitations come into play as the offense is not an ongoing one of "possession of an unregistered gun"?

Well an interesting byproduct of what FRB created when they created the online FA-10 form is that we can NOT put a date of acquisition on the form, the computer program they designed automatically puts "today's date" on said form . . . so you can never file it late that way, right?

Of course those of us in the know understand that the instructions on the e-FA-10 are INTENTIONALLY WRONG (wrt what MGL requires) for "registration", which is what a person should do when they bring a gun into MA. DO NOT fill out any info on WHERE the gun came from, only the owner's info and gun description, save the PDF, print a copy and you are done.

IANAL and this isn't legal advice, but if one were to do this even years later, I seriously doubt that anyone would try to hold that person criminally liable for not doing it earlier.

Are you a paralegal? You sure as hell seem to know what you are talking about! I know a few paralegals and they are damned good. Just don't have that JD hanging on the wall.

I should probably have become one but I'm older than you and done with full-time careers. I learned all this info from intensely tracking the MA gun laws back since 1976, living in the field of law enforcement for almost 31 years and thus have become a subject matter expert on MA gun laws. Take a look at my website (link below) and the info on the seminar I teach about MA gun laws.

What you decide to do or not is strictly up to you. There are literally thousands of people just like yourself who got an FID or LTC back prior to 1998, enjoyed shooting but didn't make it a lifetime study of the gun laws and what occurred in 1994 (Federal) and 1998 (MA).

 

[TOM1960]

Well an interesting byproduct of what FRB created when they created the online FA-10 form is that we can NOT put a date of acquisition on the form, the computer program they designed automatically puts "today's date" on said form . . . so you can never file it late that way, right?

Of course those of us in the know understand that the instructions on the e-FA-10 are INTENTIONALLY WRONG (wrt what MGL requires) for "registration", which is what a person should do when they bring a gun into MA. DO NOT fill out any info on WHERE the gun came from, only the owner's info and gun description, save the PDF, print a copy and you are done.

IANAL and this isn't legal advice, but if one were to do this even years later, I seriously doubt that anyone would try to hold that person criminally liable for not doing it earlier.




I should probably have become one but I'm older than you and done with full-time careers. I learned all this info from intensely tracking the MA gun laws back since 1976, living in the field of law enforcement for almost 31 years and thus have become a subject matter expert on MA gun laws. Take a look at my website (link below) and the info on the seminar I teach about MA gun laws.

What you decide to do or not is strictly up to you. There are literally thousands of people just like yourself who got an FID or LTC back prior to 1998, enjoyed shooting but didn't make it a lifetime study of the gun laws and what occurred in 1994 (Federal) and 1998 (MA).

Actually, my shooting career began in the mid-1970s. My mother was strictly anti-gun because one of her brothers was shot and seriously wounded by a Jap solder in the Phillippines during WWII. No guns in the house, period. No problem. Most of my high school buddies had BB/pellet guns, .22s and shotguns. Just about all of them had FIDs, because their parents were cool and wrote letters to the local police, authorizing issue. Well, when I turned 18 in the end of 1978, I purchased a Daisy 880 air rifle for target shooting in NH. Fired it constantly with friends for about a month, when I saw articles in Lawrence newspapers about people being arrested for air rifle possession without
FID. In January, 1979, I went to the Lawrence Police Station to apply for an FID. It was ridiculously easy. The Captain typed up the post-card-sized license up on an ancient typewriter, I gave him $2.00 in cash, and the deal was done. Nobody ever mentioned FID expirations. Didn't hear that until almost 20 years later from a NH gun dealer that my FID was no longer valid. Had to go to the police station in my new town, get fingerprinted and photographed and pay $100 for a new FID that was only good for 6 years! Nobody ever mentioned FA-10 forms, out-of-state purchase requirements, etc. I went about my 30-plus year shooting career, ignorant of all of the changes in the law. Maybe it is true. This state's agenda might be to turn all of us gun owners into felons, one at a time in increments. Well, Mr. LenS, once again I thank you for your advice. If I should have any future questions, you are definitely the go-to guy! Have a nice weekend! Tom