Storage at gfs house?

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So this may be a question that's been asked but I couldn't find it

My buddy recently moved from Chelmsford to his girlfriends house in reading and he doesn't want to bring his safe with him (keeping the condo in Chelmsford) because he said its against MA law to keep them there if she doesn't have a license.

Does anyone know if this is true? I know she can't have access to them but can they still be there? Biggest problem is he doesn't want to officially change his permanent residence yet.

Any helps appreciated.
 
No I dont think he can leave them there. If he want to pretend he's not 'moving', then it's no different than moving your safe over to Joe Shmoe's house. Can't have it both ways.

Can't say, "well i'm going to pretend im not moving so i don't have to transfer my permit, but hey, i'm moving so i'll leave my guns there"....
 
He can bring it or leave it. It doesn't matter as long as only licensed people can access the guns.

this is interesting Mike because ther have been a few threads on here that equate to guy leaving for extended time for work or basic training or whatever and needs to find buddy with LTC to store his guns.

So its OK to say leave your stuff at moms house so long as its locked up and nobody has the key? I'm not doubting it it just seems like a contradiction of what i have read here before
 
No I dont think he can leave them there. If he want to pretend he's not 'moving', then it's no different than moving your safe over to Joe Shmoe's house. Can't have it both ways.

Can't say, "well i'm going to pretend im not moving so i don't have to transfer my permit, but hey, i'm moving so i'll leave my guns there"....
False. Storing your guns does not equal residency and residency isnt a requirement for storing your guns somewhere.
 
If he has changed his residence he should notify the PD regardless of where the firearms are stored. That's one of the things that got Stan jacked up in Lowell when his home was broken into and his guns stolen.
 
this is interesting Mike because ther have been a few threads on here that equate to guy leaving for extended time for work or basic training or whatever and needs to find buddy with LTC to store his guns.

So its OK to say leave your stuff at moms house so long as its locked up and nobody has the key? I'm not doubting it it just seems like a contradiction of what i have read here before

I think people recommend leaving stuff with a license holder however in this case the individual isn't changing his address so what's the difference. How is leaving a safe in moms basement different than renting a storage unit. You either have access to the guns or you don't.
 
I think people recommend leaving stuff with a license holder however in this case the individual isn't changing his address so what's the difference. How is leaving a safe in moms basement different than renting a storage unit. You either have access to the guns or you don't.

true ... I couldn't never leave my babies
 
How is leaving a safe in moms basement different than renting a storage unit. You either have access to the guns or you don't.

Because one is leaving it with your mom, who doesnt have the proper permit, and the other isn't leaving it with anybody at all.

I could very well be wrong about all this this, but how is you leaving your locked guns someplace where you dont reside not open the person that lives there up to being in possession of the firearm without a license?

The fact that they're in a locked container makes no difference to decide possession i don't think. Nor do i think saying, "they belong to my friend from XYZ town and i'm holding them for him" would get you off the hook.

EDIT:

I think the crux here is if anything goes down he's going to be arguing he's not a resident of the place/doesnt live there/ etc etc, so he doesnt get hit with not reporting moving, but at the same time he's going to be argueing how he in fact come's/go's from the place and has a reason to leave all his guns there, trying to make the case that his guns, at someone elses house, were actually in his possession.

The arguments just work against themselves. The more you argue you shouldn't of had to declare moving there (esp when you DID actually move there), the less sense it makes for you to store all your guns there, and vice versa.
 
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Because one is leaving it with your mom, who doesnt have the proper permit, and the other isn't leaving it with anybody at all.

I could very well be wrong about all this this, but how is you leaving your locked guns someplace where you dont reside not open the person that lives there up to being in possession of the firearm without a license?

The fact that they're in a locked container makes no difference to decide possession i don't think. Nor do i think saying, "they belong to my friend from XYZ town and i'm holding them for him" would get you off the hook.

EDIT:

I think the crux here is if anything goes down he's going to be arguing he's not a resident of the place/doesnt live there/ etc etc, so he doesnt get hit with not reporting moving, but at the same time he's going to be argueing how he in fact come's/go's from the place and has a reason to leave all his guns there, trying to make the case that his guns, at someone elses house, were actually in his possession.

The arguments just work against themselves. The more you argue you shouldn't of had to declare moving there (esp when you DID actually move there), the less sense it makes for you to store all your guns there, and vice versa.

exactly my thought, its on your property its your responsibility. If my buddy left a safe full of crack in my house but no key you know damn well i'm going to jail
 
this is interesting Mike because ther have been a few threads on here that equate to guy leaving for extended time for work or basic training or whatever and needs to find buddy with LTC to store his guns.

So its OK to say leave your stuff at moms house so long as its locked up and nobody has the key? I'm not doubting it it just seems like a contradiction of what i have read here before
You can have your convicted-felon tosspot brother or sister living in the house with the firearms and ammo as well. As long as the felons or unlicensed persons cannot access the firearms or ammo, you are OK from a legal standpoint. Now, if your local chief finds out, there may be issues with "suitability" if you have a LTC. If you have an FID, you do not have to worry about the suitability issue.
 
You can have your convicted-felon tosspot brother or sister living in the house with the firearms and ammo as well. As long as the felons or unlicensed persons cannot access the firearms or ammo, you are OK from a legal standpoint. Now, if your local chief finds out, there may be issues with "suitability" if you have a LTC. If you have an FID, you do not have to worry about the suitability issue.

Having the felon not be able to "access" the guns doesn't mean he cant be in possession, i dont think.

If you decide to store your gun safe in the felons bedroom, then he would be in possession i'd think. If you store the safe in a common area or your room then it could be argued the guns are in your possession.
 
This came up in my BFS class. Our instructor said that you could leave them at someone's house that is not licensed as long as they do not have access to them.

It is the danger thing as if you go out of town for work for a couple weeks and your wife is not licensed, as long as only licensed individuals have access there is no problem.

I will let Lens correct me if I am wrong/was given incorrect information.
 
Having the felon not be able to "access" the guns doesn't mean he cant be in possession, i dont think.

If you decide to store your gun safe in the felons bedroom, then he would be in possession i'd think. If you store the safe in a common area or your room then it could be argued the guns are in your possession.
If you own the house, you can store the safe in your childrens' bedroom if you wish. Not saying it is smart, but as landlord, you rule the roost. If the felon cannot access the firearms because they are securely locked, it does not matter if the safe is in the attic, basement, bedroom, kitchen, party room, etc. Again, suitability might be an issue for a LTC holder if the local licensing authority (police chief or his/her delegate) gets word of the living arrangements that include felons and/or other prohibited persons in the household.
 
If you own the house, you can store the safe in your childrens' bedroom if you wish. Not saying it is smart, but as landlord, you rule the roost. If the felon cannot access the firearms because they are securely locked, it does not matter if the safe is in the attic, basement, bedroom, kitchen, party room, etc. Again, suitability might be an issue for a LTC holder if the local licensing authority (police chief or his/her delegate) gets word of the living arrangements that include felons and/or other prohibited persons in the household.

Well youre complicating things by bringing up minors and such. But in a house full of adults. If the felon has a private room then things in that room would be considered to be in his possession. If the felon is paying rent, and not staying for free, then the case is even better that it's his room.
 
If you have Joe Schmoe hold onto your safe while youre gone, then certainly we can all agree Joe is in possession of the safe. To argue that while Joe was in possession of the safe, at his house, that you were in fact in possession of all the items in the safe at the same time...... would be a really tough argument i think.

I think the only way "access" comes into play is if you don't know what's in the safe. You could make the argument that you had no way of possibly knowing what was in the safe.

I.e. your buddy says, i'm moving can i store my safe at your house? and it ends up being full of crack, VS, "I'm moving, can i store my safe full of crack at your house?"
 
Well youre complicating things by bringing up minors and such. But in a house full of adults. If the felon has a private room then things in that room would be considered to be in his possession. If the felon is paying rent, and not staying for free, then the case is even better that it's his room.
You are still the landlord, regardless whether your felon relative is paying rent or free-loading off you and the rest of your family. Now, if your felon relative is still under the supervision of a parole or probation officer (or other orders from the court overseeing his sentence), it could be a different matter. Many, if not most, parole officers will refuse to allow the felon to live in a home where firearms are present, regardless of whether the owner is licensed and has them secured. That is not law; it is the parole officer using his/her discretion. They can demand that archery equipment, air rifles and martial arts weapons (swords, etc.) be removed from the home before the felon on parole can stay there. But as a general rule, upheld by BATFE, as long as the felon cannot access the firearms and ammunition, the felon can reside in your home.
 
well techincally you get into the quiet use and enjoyment aspect by being a landlord. You can't rent a room to someone then inform them that you're still the landlord and still be using the room as your storage area and the tenant will have to deal. The tenant has the right to live in and enjoy the room, you don't have the right to use the room you rented as a storage closet.

anyways thats a different argument....

Maybe by the BATFE standard it's not illegal, but the laws against Felon in possession of a firearm i wouldnt want to test by knowlingly keeping firearms in my private room, whether secured or not. (If i was a felon i mean).

I think you could store your guns legally in the felons room, you wouldnt be breaking the law i don't think. But I think he would be.
 
No I dont think he can leave them there. If he want to pretend he's not 'moving', then it's no different than moving your safe over to Joe Shmoe's house. Can't have it both ways.

Can't say, "well i'm going to pretend im not moving so i don't have to transfer my permit, but hey, i'm moving so i'll leave my guns there"....

actually you can. if they don't have to play by the rules, then you can game their system. what they don't know won't hurt them. YMMV. IANAL.
 
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