Call this a thought exercise. If somebody moved to Mass from a state with vastly different gun laws (and was in compliance with those laws as far as he knew before moving), bringing a firearm with him into Mass (where he didn't realize the laws were so stiff), how would said person dispose of that firearm legally? Lets say a person can't mail it because he doesn't have an FFL, doesn't want to risk getting in trouble by inquiring about it with local authorities, and can't discretely drive it all the way home again. What then? What would this person do to legally get this hypothetical weapon off his hands so as to be in compliance with the law? Drive to NH and find a gunshow?
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What would somebody do... (a thought exercise)
- Thread starter louisiana
- Start date
Lots of bad assumptions here, and a serious lack of pertinent info:
- Why not get a MA LTC? If you are ineligible for some reason, find a friend who has a valid MA LTC to hold/handle the gun for you. You legally have x days to possess (but not transport/carry/remove from home) firearms after moving here, giving you about 1/4-1/2 the time it takes to get a MA LTC.
- If the gun is MA compliant (not a "no ban" SAW) but you can't/won't get a MA LTC, have a friend with LTC drive it with you to a local dealer (Four Seasons recommended if anywhere near Woburn, MA) and put it on consignment.
- If the gun is a handgun that isn't on MA approved list and wasn't in MA on 10/21/98, you'll need to dispose of it out-of-state (see below) UNLESS you get a MA LTC. NO HANDGUNS ARE BANNED IF YOU POSSESS A MA LTC (for completeness, this is only true if the handgun "looks like a handgun", so yes things like pen-guns are totally illegal in MA). MA Dealer Sales are the ONLY THING THAT IS RESTRICTED. Do some searching and reading here in the Gun Laws forum and you'll see we've covered that area dozens of times before. [Once you get a MA LTC, you can legally sell up to 4 guns/year including any NON-MA Compliant handguns privately to another LTC holder.]
- Is the gun in question a "no ban"? [e.g. An AR15 can be broken down and rebuilt as MA compliant relatively easy.] If so, selling it to a dealer out of state would be the best solution if it can't be made compliant easily. I'd contact a good out-of-state dealer (check reviews of dealers in the Gun Shop Reviews forum here) and put it on consignment, because selling it outright won't get you any more than ~50% of it's true value, where consignment can net you ~80% of the true value.
- NOTHING requires a FFL from the person shipping a gun to a FFL! NO Fed/MA Laws, NO USPS Regs (for long guns only)! NO UPS/FedEx Regs! I have personally shipped a rifle and 3 handguns via FedEx (all back to mfr or dealer) and NEVER been asked for a FFL!
- NEVER inquire about it with local police. Most won't know a legal firearm from an illegal one. Some will assume most anything to be illegal and confiscate it or perhaps even arrest you (may be rare, but it has happened) with a perfectly legal gun. Dealers know guns, police know crime!
- Why not get a MA LTC? If you are ineligible for some reason, find a friend who has a valid MA LTC to hold/handle the gun for you. You legally have x days to possess (but not transport/carry/remove from home) firearms after moving here, giving you about 1/4-1/2 the time it takes to get a MA LTC.
- If the gun is MA compliant (not a "no ban" SAW) but you can't/won't get a MA LTC, have a friend with LTC drive it with you to a local dealer (Four Seasons recommended if anywhere near Woburn, MA) and put it on consignment.
- If the gun is a handgun that isn't on MA approved list and wasn't in MA on 10/21/98, you'll need to dispose of it out-of-state (see below) UNLESS you get a MA LTC. NO HANDGUNS ARE BANNED IF YOU POSSESS A MA LTC (for completeness, this is only true if the handgun "looks like a handgun", so yes things like pen-guns are totally illegal in MA). MA Dealer Sales are the ONLY THING THAT IS RESTRICTED. Do some searching and reading here in the Gun Laws forum and you'll see we've covered that area dozens of times before. [Once you get a MA LTC, you can legally sell up to 4 guns/year including any NON-MA Compliant handguns privately to another LTC holder.]
- Is the gun in question a "no ban"? [e.g. An AR15 can be broken down and rebuilt as MA compliant relatively easy.] If so, selling it to a dealer out of state would be the best solution if it can't be made compliant easily. I'd contact a good out-of-state dealer (check reviews of dealers in the Gun Shop Reviews forum here) and put it on consignment, because selling it outright won't get you any more than ~50% of it's true value, where consignment can net you ~80% of the true value.
- NOTHING requires a FFL from the person shipping a gun to a FFL! NO Fed/MA Laws, NO USPS Regs (for long guns only)! NO UPS/FedEx Regs! I have personally shipped a rifle and 3 handguns via FedEx (all back to mfr or dealer) and NEVER been asked for a FFL!
- NEVER inquire about it with local police. Most won't know a legal firearm from an illegal one. Some will assume most anything to be illegal and confiscate it or perhaps even arrest you (may be rare, but it has happened) with a perfectly legal gun. Dealers know guns, police know crime!
This 'thought exercise' got me thinking about another question that I THINK I know the answer to.
Len talked about shipping guns.
Isn't it legal to ship a gun from your home to you at another address? Basically mailing yourself a gun to use by you at the new location?
Frinstance, you live in one state and are going to another for whatever reason....vacation suppose. Whilst in the vacation state, you plan on doing hunting, target shooting etc with your friends/family. Isn't it legal to ship the pieces to yourself, in care of them, so that they are there when you arrive..thus avoiding the hassle of carrying them on an airplane or the difficulty of transporting them in a vehicle thru various states?
I thought I read it was.
Len talked about shipping guns.
Isn't it legal to ship a gun from your home to you at another address? Basically mailing yourself a gun to use by you at the new location?
Frinstance, you live in one state and are going to another for whatever reason....vacation suppose. Whilst in the vacation state, you plan on doing hunting, target shooting etc with your friends/family. Isn't it legal to ship the pieces to yourself, in care of them, so that they are there when you arrive..thus avoiding the hassle of carrying them on an airplane or the difficulty of transporting them in a vehicle thru various states?
I thought I read it was.
You may legally (by Federal Standards, I haven't checked all states) ship yourself a firearm from state to state. You can use the Postal System for long arms only, not a handgun (FFL's may use USPS for handguns). I recommend UPS or FedEx anyways for this.
I know of what louisiana speaks of...
One, where are you from down there? As I grew up in that state?
And two, when I moved up here. I didn't think about learning about the laws because I've never lived in a state where I had to have a permit to own a gun. So I didn't ever think about what I would need to do.
So, I think that it's a good thing that you're thinking about this ahead of time.
But, I was lucky that my Father-in-Law is in the know with these things. ANd let me konw that I needed to get a permit if I wanted to keep my guns. This after the comment that I said that I didn't carry. He informed me that a CCW in MA isn't for carrying, but really just to own and possess.
So, I was also lucky that I had a friend here at work that shoots. So I took all my guns over to his house until I finished the process of getting my LTC.
If I never spoke to people about having guns, which would have been hard as I would have been looking for a range to shoot at...
And my father-in-law didn't help us move, and he picked up a box with a 1000 rounds of .45...
I might have never known and could have found myself in a world of hurt if someone found out that I had them in the house with no permit.
One, where are you from down there? As I grew up in that state?
And two, when I moved up here. I didn't think about learning about the laws because I've never lived in a state where I had to have a permit to own a gun. So I didn't ever think about what I would need to do.
So, I think that it's a good thing that you're thinking about this ahead of time.
But, I was lucky that my Father-in-Law is in the know with these things. ANd let me konw that I needed to get a permit if I wanted to keep my guns. This after the comment that I said that I didn't carry. He informed me that a CCW in MA isn't for carrying, but really just to own and possess.
So, I was also lucky that I had a friend here at work that shoots. So I took all my guns over to his house until I finished the process of getting my LTC.
If I never spoke to people about having guns, which would have been hard as I would have been looking for a range to shoot at...
And my father-in-law didn't help us move, and he picked up a box with a 1000 rounds of .45...
I might have never known and could have found myself in a world of hurt if someone found out that I had them in the house with no permit.
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