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Statute Of Limitations For eFA10'ing A Completed Firearm?

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Any resident of the commonwealth who purchases or obtains a firearm, rifle or shotgun or machine gun from any source within or without the commonwealth, other than from a licensee under section one hundred and twenty-two or a person authorized to sell firearms under section one hundred and twenty-eight A, and any nonresident of the commonwealth who purchases or obtains a firearm, rifle, shotgun or machine gun from any source within or without the commonwealth, other than such a licensee or person, and receives such firearm, rifle, shotgun or machine gun, within the commonwealth shall within seven days after receiving such firearm, rifle, shotgun or machine gun, report, in writing, to the commissioner of the department of criminal justice information services the name and address of the seller or donor and the buyer or donee, together with a complete description of the firearm, rifle, shotgun or machine gun, including the caliber, make and serial number. Whoever violates any provision of this section shall for the first offense be punished by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 and for any subsequent offense by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than ten years.
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LMBO

Read the actual letter of the law then try to determine all the things they would have to prove BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT to be successful at trial on this specific statute.
Also take into account the spirit of the law, the spirit of the law is not and was not intended to be a registry, it is a transaction log to monitor the flow of firearms, rifle, shotguns, machine guns within the commonwealth and you get a "gentle reminder" of $500 on your first mess up. So you either think you meet the letter and/or spirit of the law or you dont and you act accordingly.

iANAL but I asked ChatGPT who is probably better at things like this than most of us. Seems like an expensive and hill to climb for the state for a $500 fine and looks like an add-on charge for bigger shit that gets bargined away at best. Also even if the state were able to successfully prove each point, while intent is not mentioned in the text of the law it may be considered in the overall case context.
  • What is a firearm, rifle, shotgun, machine gun defined as by law.
  • Whom is or is not as licensee by law.
  • Whom is or is not required to record said item.
  • You you purchased or obtained said item of said definition (firearm, rifle, shotgun)
  • You also received such (firearm, rifle, shotgun) within the commonwealth.
  • 7 days has elapsed since the receiving of the purchase or obtainment has occured.
  • What purchase or obtain or received means, and that it was actually purchased or obtained....or was it rather manufactured, created, derived, manifested, whatever else you want to call it splitting letter of law definitions. It could also be borrowed indefinitely, on hold, in storage on behalf of another person, etc.
  • Is to have Recieved/Manufactured/Obtained the same meanings by a defined legal term or a common term?
  • Not more than (statute limitation) have elapsed since said infraction occured.
  • The person failed to report (in writing) to the commissioner. (No where does the letter of the law say electronically logging in an online portal provided by the state, they say it in a FAQ and will send you a letter back in the mail saying "we don't do it like this any more")
  • Said writing did not contain a complete description of said item and serial number.
  • It is the persons 1st or subsequent offense.
Most people are very focused on the letter of the law (certain parts) vs the spirit of the law, but still want to ignore the bolded letters?
 
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spt_1955 said:
I'm going to wait for the commission being formed by the new law to report on whether that section is one of the "more than 100 provisions" of the current law that have NEVER been enforced.
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Like the issuance of a "Permit to purchase" :)
 
Cap'n Mike said:
IANAL, but I can read.
The Statutes of Limitations on most crimes in Mass is 6 Years.
The Question then becomes is failing to record a transaction in the FA10 portal a Continuing Offense or an Instantaneous Offense.
My opinion is that it’s an instantaneous offense, because that’s what SCOTUS decided in Toussie v. United States, 397 U.S. 112 (1970).

Toussie failed to register for selective service in 1959 and was convicted of draft dodging in 1967.
SCOTUS overturned his conviction because the 5 year Statute of Limitations had run out.

I think your elderly friend would have a strong defense that the 6 years SOL had run out.
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I may be wrong but I think @nstassel wrote being able to persuade the court to dismiss the charge of failure to FA10 based on the statute of limitations.

​

 
AMV said:
But are you required to register it or only record the transfer?

The law states you need to list the seller if obtained in the state

General Law - Part I, Title XX, Chapter 140, Section 128B

malegislature.gov malegislature.gov
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EFA10 is portrayed as a transaction check (are the buyers and sellers both legal) but it's "really" a crappy, back-door registration system.

I was being snarky with that comment, not precise.

As for the seller, if there is no seller, you write NONE. There are various ways that can happen including (perfectly legal) manufacturing (aka ghost guns [laugh]) or inheritance.

If there is no serial number (hit or miss on historical firearms) and SERIAL NUMBERS ARE NOT REQUIRED ON FIREARMS YOU PERSONALLY MANUFACTURED FOR YOUR OWN USE, EVEN IF YOU LATER DECIDE TO SELL IT, then, again, you write NONE.
 
scott-o said:
... IANAL but I asked ChatGPT who is probably better at things like this than most of us. Seems like an expensive and hill to climb for the state for a $500 fine and looks like an add-on charge for bigger shit that gets bargined away at best. Also even if the state were able to successfully prove each point, while intent is not mentioned in the text of the law it may be considered in the overall case context. ...
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ChatGPT (really, AI in general) is going to lead to a real humanitarian crisis in a few years.

AI is being introduced in places and ways that are truly insane. I am so thankful I'm old and won't have to deal with what's coming down the pike for you kids.
 
If a person were charged with failure to efa-10 and it involved multiple items, would that be one infraction or multiple?
 
Every time he takes it apart, it’s not capable of firing a shot. Then when he puts it back together, he has 7 days to complete the eFA10…
 
Rob Boudrie said:
I have considered gettng a 1911oid with serial number N0NE (that's a zero).
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It was a cool idea, but I have second thoughts when reading about the problems the persons with vanity plates "RETIRED" and "NOPLATE" had.

I once had to argue with a gunship clerk to get him to fill out a 4473 and FA10 (pre eFA10 days) on a 2011 style frame with serial number "38SUPER". "That's not a serial number, it's a caliber" - and the nature of such a frame looked more like a rail assembly. I convinced him to fill out the paperwork and set it aside for the boss to decide, since I did not want a "get here now please" call from the owner.
 

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