Question on Chapter 269 Secion 10

C-pher

C-pher

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OK, I have a question.

I know from Chapter 269 Section 10, that there are a list of items that are not "legal" in MA.

But the first line reads as follows:

Whoever, except as provided by law, carries on his person, or carries on his person or under his control in a vehicle...
Click to expand...

Then goes on to list a crap load of BS on things that you can't have in the above Chapter and Section.

What I'm wondering is this.. Per the list from above...you can own it. You just can't have it with you outside your house. Would that be correct?


Can you tell I hate these laws as I'm not a lawyer and they are a bitch to read.

Anyway, let's say that you moved into MA with a sling shot or some other item on that list... You can keep it, you just can't carry it on your person, or have it in your car... Correct? SO if you're plinking in your back yard with a sling shot and a cop drives by, you're screwed. But if it's in a box or on a slelf in the basement, it's OK. So, you can have it, you just can't play with it...

And, if I'm reading this right, you can have it in your house, and you can only get busted with it if it's found while they "...when arrested upon a warrant for an alleged crime, or when arrested while committing a breach or disturbance of the public peace, is armed with or has on his person, or has on his person or under his control in a vehicle..."

So if they are coming into your home as a result as an arrest, you're in trouble. But if they are there because a kitty was stuck in a tree and they see it through your basement window, it's cool.
 
...carries on his person, or carries on his person or under his control in a vehicle...
Click to expand...

Which language seems to refer to CARRYING off-property; not sitting on a shelf in your home.

As opposed to, say, having a sawed-off shotgun or a gun with an obliterated serial number........
 
Scrivener said:
Which language seems to refer to CARRYING off-property; not sitting on a shelf in your home.

As opposed to, say, having a sawed-off shotgun or a gun with an obliterated serial number........
Click to expand...

That was what I was wondering... Can I widdle in my back yard with a knife...or plink with a slingshot... etc..

I would really like to plink if I were to own a sling shot without having to keep looking over my shoulder...
 
I've often wondered about this one myself. This paragraph if I remember correctly also lists nunchaku, shuriken and other Kung-Fu "weapons". Having been a martial arts practitioner for many years. I've always wondered what the final say was here. But my real-world experience has told me this: I can't count how many LEOs I've posed this question to in the past 15 years or so, and the answer has always been the same: "We could care less if you have that kind of thing in your house, just don't go walking around with it like an idiot".

I also asked about transporting said instruments to a place of practice (Dojo, competition etc.) and the answer was once again quite consistent in that as long as I was headed to (or from) one of these events, and said items were stored out of reach in a gym bag with some type of martial arts uniform, I should be okay.

Now, IANAL.

Again: IANAL.


I'm just basing my real world experience on what seems to be the more likely outcome given what many LEOs have told me, That being said, I'd still like to get the "letter of the law" here, I.E. could I go and throw shuriken (throwing stars) at a tree in my back yard if I was within my property limits, and has a sufficient backstop and/or runoff room beyond the target? Same example for a wrist rocket, blowgun etc.

This, like the hi-cap mag scenario is one of those often talked about but rarely implemented laws. (When was the last time you heard of a law-abiding citizen busted for simply having any of these items in his or her home?) None that I can recall, and I'm big into most of the items listed in this paragraph.


Any thoughts?
 
Last edited:
Sounds more like a case of "What they don't know won't hurt". I don't condone breaking the law, but here is what happens in the real world.

Do some regular citizens in Ma own and use post ban high cap mags? Yes they do, I have seen them.

Do some regular citizens in Ma own and use risk rockets or sling shots? Yes they do I have seen them.

Are they breaking the law? Yes they are, I have seen them do it.

Are they going to get caught? Probably not unless they are doing something stupid.

Do these laws make the world a safer place? Not one bit, because many of the people who own these items, use them in a sensible way. The people who do stupid things are going to get these items whether they are legal or not.

Just like gun control. Does it work? Nope
Does it make the world more safe? Not one bit, it actually has the opposite effect.
 
Pilgrim said:
would that be 'discharging a weapon' within 500 feet of a dwelling?
Click to expand...


Not sure.

Is throwing something "discharging" it? I would doubt it. I imagine that discharging refers to some type of propellant (powder, co2, air, spring etc), but I'm certainly not sure of this.
 
Fooped said:
Not to be nit-picky, but it's a Wrist-rocket. Just for clarification. Once again, not trying to be rude.[smile]
Click to expand...

Sling shot
slingshot1.jpg


Wrist rocket
WR-1.jpg
 

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