Using a firearm in self defense

additionalmc

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What happens in MA when you use a firearm in self defense? do the cops take all your guns, or just the gun used in self defense? What if you own guns, but did not use a gun in self defense?
 
What happens in MA when you use a firearm in self defense? do the cops take all your guns, or just the gun used in self defense? What if you own guns, but did not use a gun in self defense?

All the guns and permit too, 95+% of the time.

You should look into some training on the law of self-defense and repercussions. Start with NRA's Personal Protection In the Home, then Outside the Home . . . after that consider some defensive handgun courses where you learn the mechanics of shooting. The NRA courses spend time on the range, but mix that with a healthy dose of material covering a lot of what to expect from the police, how to deal with them, how to avoid a confrontation if possible, etc. I teach these courses and others do too (not until next March due to shortening days that make getting all the range work in before dark rather difficult), depending on where you are located, go to www.nrainstructors.org and search for courses in MA.
 
Who decides the confiscation of all guns of someone involved in a home defense shooting? The local Chief of police or someone else.

If I am involved, do they confiscate my wife's guns too, or only mine?

Do they pull my wife's permit too, or just mine?

How long does it take to get them back?

Where do they get stored?

Do they also take my government issued duty weapon?

Is this also done in MA if the shooting happens outside MA in the performance of duty or just in MA not duty related?

I really don't know why I still live in this shit hole.
 
Replies in line.

Who decides the confiscation of all guns of someone involved in a home defense shooting? The local Chief of police or someone else.

Chief of police.

If I am involved, do they confiscate my wife's guns too, or only mine?

EVERYTHING in the house, regardless of who owns it!


Do they pull my wife's permit too, or just mine?

Just yours.

How long does it take to get them back?

Usually forever gone or very close to that.

Where do they get stored?

Other than "evidence gun", all others usually will go to a bonded warehouse, hence why they are gone forever. Read all about it in Jarvis v. Village Vault on www.comm2a.org

Do they also take my government issued duty weapon?

Everything in the house or under your control. It will be up to the two gov't entities to duke it out over any gov. owned weapons.

Is this also done in MA if the shooting happens outside MA in the performance of duty or just in MA not duty related?

If you are involved, you can count on this happening regardless of where the event happened. Only exception likely would be if you were operating as a LEO, then they would usually only take the gun used.

I really don't know why I still live in this shit hole.
 
jeez this makes me wonder if keeping all your ar15 uppers not designated for SD separate from the lowers and storing them somewhere else off property is a good idea. at least your uppers wouldn't be confiscated.
 
jeez this makes me wonder if keeping all your ar15 uppers not designated for SD separate from the lowers and storing them somewhere else off property is a good idea. at least your uppers wouldn't be confiscated.

Excellent idea if you like being charged under C. 269 S. 10, felony for non-disclosure on suspension/revocation of a LTC.
 
Excellent idea if you like being charged under C. 269 S. 10, felony for non-disclosure on suspension/revocation of a LTC.

really? I understand you wouldnt want to do that with the firearm used in the actual HD situation. But what about your other ARs not used? Even if you leave the lowers themselves inside your house? I would figure since the lower receiver is what is considered the firearm, the uppers (not considered a firearm) are a non issue.

Hypothetical speaking of course:

what if you had four ar15s in your house. No other guns. One is used for home defense. The other 3 are fun guns.

What if a week or two prior to a home defense incident at your dwelling, you take the uppers from 3 of your fun ARs and put them in your car trunk or say you take them to a friend's house for storage. Then a week later, the HD scenerio happens and your HD AR is used.

the LEO show up. They confiscate the complete HD AR that was used in self defense and also confiscate the 3 lone ar lower receivers. Would you need to disclose the existence of the other 3 uppers?
 
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What happens in MA when you use a firearm in self defense?

your life as you know it is over

you will spend over 100k defending yourself in the criminal trial, and untold more in the ensuing civil one

you will probably lose your job, you may lose your family, your health, and your freedom.

consider that carefully. It's why it would have to be me or my very immediate family before i would consider a self-defense situation.

it is a cold, hard truth in MA
 
Confiscation:

I think that the new gun law that past said that after the police take the guns, you can have a FFL come and pick them up within 10 days.
 
Confiscation:

I think that the new gun law that past said that after the police take the guns, you can have a FFL come and pick them up within 10 days.

True. but nothing in the law prevents the PD from turning them over to their favorite Bonded Warehouse IMMEDIATELY!!
 
My guess is that if LEO showed up and found tricked out killy uppers out on your kitchen table you would be cited for improper storage, whether a lower was involved or not. My guess is they would act in the same manner in a confiscation order.
 
Len, any chance you could expound on my first post (uppers separated from lowers)? I edited my OP with hypotheticals.

They come with a list of ALL guns ever registered to you and expect to find all of them (including those you sold years ago). If you hold anything back or lie, and they figure it out (and many LEOs are pretty good of smoking out BS), you will get prosecuted for failure to turn over everything, it's a felony. How lucky do you feel . . . theoretically?
 
They come with a list of ALL guns ever registered to you and expect to find all of them (including those you sold years ago). If you hold anything back or lie, and they figure it out (and many LEOs are pretty good of smoking out BS), you will get prosecuted for failure to turn over everything, it's a felony. How lucky do you feel . . . theoretically?

Unbelievable. Simply un-f*kkin-believable. Just unfrigginreal. Meanwhile, one of the GUYS that I work with asked me for a ride to Sullivan Square MBTA last week, at 7pm, on a beautifully "warm" (for November) evening and it's only a very short walk. But he's "a little nervous" about walking in this area, cuz "it's Somerville and there's a lot of bad people around here at night"....

But if I walk it, and get surrounded by three of them with knives, and the one who is most effed up on weed/pills/heroin/whatever decides "Aw, screw it. I'm just gonna shank the muthaf*kka anyways", and I produce my G26 and fire and....my life as I know it ends?

Unreal. Simply Un-f*kkin-f*kkin-real
 
Yup, I'm more afraid of the repercussions of using my gun for self defense than the encounter....

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk
 
Unbelievable. Simply un-f*kkin-believable. Just unfrigginreal. Meanwhile, one of the GUYS that I work with asked me for a ride to Sullivan Square MBTA last week, at 7pm, on a beautifully "warm" (for November) evening and it's only a very short walk. But he's "a little nervous" about walking in this area, cuz "it's Somerville and there's a lot of bad people around here at night"....

But if I walk it, and get surrounded by three of them with knives, and the one who is most effed up on weed/pills/heroin/whatever decides "Aw, screw it. I'm just gonna shank the muthaf*kka anyways", and I produce my G26 and fire and....my life as I know it ends?

Unreal. Simply Un-f*kkin-f*kkin-real

That's about it in a nutshell.
 
really? I understand you wouldnt want to do that with the firearm used in the actual HD situation. But what about your other ARs not used? Even if you leave the lowers themselves inside your house? I would figure since the lower receiver is what is considered the firearm, the uppers (not considered a firearm) are a non issue.

Hypothetical speaking of course:

what if you had four ar15s in your house. No other guns. One is used for home defense. The other 3 are fun guns.

What if a week or two prior to a home defense incident at your dwelling, you take the uppers from 3 of your fun ARs and put them in your car trunk or say you take them to a friend's house for storage. Then a week later, the HD scenerio happens and your HD AR is used.

the LEO show up. They confiscate the complete HD AR that was used in self defense and also confiscate the 3 lone ar lower receivers. Would you need to disclose the existence of the other 3 uppers?

What you're getting at is the very reason 80% lowers and cash purchases of everything to build a rifle at local shops, or even better gun shows, are popular.

They can't take it if they don't know you have it or where it is.
 
Every situation will be unique. There is no guarantee that the worst case scenario being harped on here will occur.

Civilians have used guns for self defense and defense of others in Massachusetts and not been prosecuted.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...
 
Every situation will be unique. There is no guarantee that the worst case scenario being harped on here will occur.

Civilians have used guns for self defense and defense of others in Massachusetts and not been prosecuted.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...

True, like the special PO that shot the perp stabbing the doctor to death at MGH. They only hung him out to dry for 6 months before ruling that he would not be persecuted!

WRT elsewhere, ask Zimmerman how it works in the GunShine State!
 
They come with a list of ALL guns ever registered to you and expect to find all of them (including those you sold years ago). If you hold anything back or lie, and they figure it out (and many LEOs are pretty good of smoking out BS), you will get prosecuted for failure to turn over everything, it's a felony. How lucky do you feel . . . theoretically?

even when the upper receivers are not registered? for the lowers I get it; those are on the books, but for 3 uppers? for all they know, those 3 uppers could have been sold months ago for cash.
 
Thanks for the answers Len. I had no idea. Stealing all my firearms and denying my right to keep and bear arms by pulling my permit because I defended myself is unacceptable. I understand what happenened to Zimmerman, but defense of my family at 02:30 in my home should not be up for negotiation. The idea that all guns including other family members guns being confiscated because I defended my family in a justified shooting is simply unacceptable. Even more so if I have to use lethal force as a LEO. Fortunately I have a portable job and am not tied here to it. I will be taking my income and my tax and leaving.

You just cemented my decision to move to NH next summer.
 
Every situation will be unique. There is no guarantee that the worst case scenario being harped on here will occur.

Civilians have used guns for self defense and defense of others in Massachusetts and not been prosecuted.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...
This and more.

There's much more hand-wringing here that is warranted. In the immediate aftermath of a legitimate self-defense shooting you can expect the police to do their job. Don't expect a death investigation to stop because you have an LTC and you shot someone in your house. The police are going to investigate any possible prior relationship between you and the deceased. That's their job.

The real vulnerable spot for MA gun owners in civil liability. Regardless of how justified you were there is nothing preventing relatives of the deceased from pursuing a wrongful death civil suit. And I'm not sure if moving to New Hampshire solves this problem.
 
Even in the MGH case the lawyer for the dead guy, you know the one who was stabbing a doctor to death when he was shot, made public statements regarding excessive force. I don't think the family ever pursued damages.

That said the clearer the case the less attractive a lawsuit... but never underestimate your fellow man. You could plug some guy raping your 5 year old daughter with a knife at 3AM in her bedroom and some douchey lawyer could still cost you 10s of thousands in legal fees over an unwinnable case.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...
 
even when the upper receivers are not registered? for the lowers I get it; those are on the books, but for 3 uppers? for all they know, those 3 uppers could have been sold months ago for cash.

Just build some 80% lower guns and store them somewhere else. Done.
 
I've said it before and had all the NES street lawyers bitch at me. Forget castle doctrine, forget, right and wrong, or common sense. If you shoot someone in lawfull self defense in MA it's safe to expect the following:
Gun seized as evidence
LTC suspended during the investigation (which can take 6 weeks-6 months)
As a result all other guns "held for safekeeping"
Possible criminal charges...possible
Civil suit by the family of the rubbish you shot
Liens on your assets during the suit
Public shame by the left media
Whispers from your neighbors.

Good luck, keep the powder dry and a good lawyer on retainer
 
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