Why NOT to Ask LEOs/FFLs About MA Gun Laws

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Len-2A Training

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NEVER EVER ask (and rely on) LEOs or FFLs about MA Gun Laws!!

Here's some gems that I've been told to point out what I mean. I won't ID the guilty, my intent is to warn NES'rs NOT to rely on ANYONE (including ME) for advice without a CITATION to MGL or CMR that you THOROUGHLY check out yourself.

[REMEMBER ALL OF THESE ARE WRONG!]

- Transfers of guns between family members do NOT require an FA-10 form.

- As long as a (new) hi-cap magazine can hold 10 rounds, it's legal!

- The hi-cap ban ended in 2004 (for MA)! The LE/Mil markings are meaningless in MA!

- Buy all the ammo you need today, next week the law is changing so that you'll only be able to buy 50 rds per visit to a gun shop. [This was at a gun shop ~7-8 years ago.]

- All frames require an FA-10 form.

- Frames can't be transferred unless they are on the EOPS List and AG Approved.

- BB/Pellet guns require a LTC (FID for rifles) and FA-10 form.

- You can't use a pre-ban hi-cap mag in a post-ban gun.

- An LE purchased gun can only be sold to another LEO.

- All your guns MUST be registered.

- You can't borrow/carry someone else's gun.

- You can't sell a handgun privately unless it is on the EOPS List.

- You can be prosecuted for possessing an "illegal gun" (one not on the EOPS List). You can be prosecuted for buying a gun from a MA Dealer that wasn't on the EOPS List or is "recalled" since it wasn't legal for the dealer to sell it to you.

- Boston bans possession of hi-cap guns/mags (even if pre-ban) . . . I've now heard that the "magic number" is >6 rds and >8 rds, both are wrong. Most will tell you that even visiting/driving thru the city "in violation" is a criminal offense, wrong.

- Pre-ban hi-cap mags or pre-ban (SAWs) rifles must have been registered in MA prior to 1994/1998 or they can't be bought/brought into the state.

- ANY handgun that "is capable of holding" >10 rds is automatically a "hi-cap handgun" (ergo, every handgun with a mag well would thus be "hi-cap").

- You MUST have an FID card to buy ammo. A LTC isn't sufficient!

- FTF transactions via an FFL or shipped in from out of state to an FFL in MA REQUIRE payment of MA Sales Tax to the FFL for the cost of the transfer (labor) or the value of the gun (determined by the MA FFL)!


I'll think of more later and add them to the thread.
 
LenS said:
- Boston bans possession of hi-cap guns/mags (even if pre-ban) . . . I've now heard that the "magic number" is >6 rds and >8 rds, both are wrong. Most will tell you that even visiting/driving thru the city "in violation" is a criminal offense, wrong.
Click to expand...
I first heard that particular chestnut more than 10 years ago.
 
Add S&W to the list too.

I called them a while ago and asked if I could get a larger mag for my CS45 as it's a 6 rounder. I didn't ask for any specific size but the lady told me that anything larger than 6 was illegal in Ma and she couldn't sell me anything except for a 6 rounder.
 
Add Glock:

- Can't (actually "won't") replace a broken frame for anyone in MA (unless active LEO) unless replacement frame was made pre-10/21/1998.
 
Another one I hear from Mass dealers all of the time is: "You can't bring guns you owned before you moved to Mass into Mass now that you have your LTC. You have to leave them all behind and buy new ones from me." They always very conveniently forget to tell them that they can just fill out the FA-10 and bring them in.
 
Another prize that I've heard said by both dealers and LEOs:

- All inherited guns (interstate) must be shipped to a MA Dealer for transfer.

- All interstate transfers MUST be shipped from an FFL to the MA FFL.
 
I was over a friends house the other week and this other guy that was over there was apparently some off duty cop or something and he started talking to someone else about firearms and the laws around them in MA. Every other thing he said was very wrong and I couldn't help but correct him every other sentence. It just amazes me that these are the same people that citizens expect to uphold the laws and they don't even know the laws themselves.
 
I always liked the "any knife with a blade over 4" is illegal"

And that was back long before Boston and most other citys had any length limits.
 
A cop told me that it's perfectly legal to buy a new hi-cap mag (for say an M&P9) and bring it into MA.
 
PaulD said:
A cop told me that it's perfectly legal to buy a new hi-cap mag (for say an M&P9) and bring it into MA.
Click to expand...

Well, it is for him, right? Maybe he was only speaking for himself. I thought there is an AWB exemption for LEOs provided it is for the duty weapon.
 
maee said:
Well, it is for him, right? Maybe he was only speaking for himself. I thought there is an AWB exemption for LEOs provided it is for the duty weapon.
Click to expand...

No, we were talking about a regular LTC holder.

If the conversation were about LEOs, I wouldn't have bothered mentioning it in this thread.
 
Regarding post-ban hi-cap mags, I've spoken to several MA police officers who've stated that they wouldn't even be able to tell if one was pre, or post ban, and if the person in question had a valid LTC, they honestly wouldn't care either way.
 
Here's a few gems I've heard...

"That gun didn't get certified because it's large capacity" (WTF?)

"I can't transfer your (easily verified as pre-98) Glock into MA because it wasn't registered in the state blah blah blah blah...

"I can't sell you that particular glock because it's not legal in MA" (The gun in question was a 2nd gen glock)

"That's not MA Compliant (Then why is every other f**king store in the state selling it?)

"You can get in trouble for carrying a non-compliant handgun in MA... "

Groannnnnn...
 
Not too long ago, I was in a Boston area gun store (not in the city of Boston, mind you), and the salesman told me that he could not sell any kind of AR-15 clone because of the AWB, no matter how it was configured. I said "Yeah well, what about every other gun store in MA that is selling them?" and he just shrugged and said "I can't figure out how they get away with it!"
 
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LenS said:
- ANY handgun that "is capable of holding" >10 rds is automatically a "hi-cap handgun" (ergo, every handgun with a mag well would thus be "hi-cap").
Click to expand...

I know WAY too many police officers who think this. Even when you show them the law that sets up the High-Cap list, they still refuse to believe it. Although I usually get the "Don't worry Chris, I'll never arrest anyone on that alone." So, not only do they have the law WRONG, they admit they wouldn't enforce the law as they know it. ARGH!!!!

The other one is that ANY gun that holds more than 10 or 5 is High Cap - forgetting the semi-auto requirement and the tubular .22 exemption.
 
maee said:
Not too long ago, I was in a Boston area gun store (not in the city of Boston, mind you), and the salesman told me that he could not sell any kind of AR-15 clone because of the AWB, no matter how it was configured. I said "Yeah well, what about every other gun store in MA that is selling them?" and he just shrugged and said "I can't figure out how they get away with it!"
Click to expand...
Wow, I think we retired the term "moron" a little too soon[wink]
 
45collector said:
Regarding post-ban hi-cap mags, I've spoken to several MA police officers who've stated that they wouldn't even be able to tell if one was pre, or post ban, and if the person in question had a valid LTC, they honestly wouldn't care either way.
Click to expand...

That is one of my favorite "tin foil hat" concerns I see on this board...I AM NOT ADVOCATING BREAKING THE LAW, BUT...unless you get grabbed for something else (even then I doubt it), no one is sending unmarked mags to the super secret state mag. dating lab, to determine thier age...Of coarse don't be stupid and buy high cap mags for guns that didn't exist befor 1994...

edit: befor the "tin foil hats" come out let me clarify what I mean...you go to a gun show you see unmarked AK mags...don't loose sleep over them, just buy them...there are probably billions of AK mags in the world and no one paid any attention to when they were made...the cop you happen into, and anyone else, will not know that the clover in a triangle is a lebanese date stamp meaning made in 2009 or is it clover in trapazoid...

further edit: I made up the whole clover in triangle/trapazoid thing to illustrate my point, I have no idea if those stamps exist, or if they do what they mean...
 
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securityboy said:
That is one of my favorite "tin foil hat" concerns I see on this board...I AM NOT ADVOCATING BREAKING THE LAW, BUT...unless you get grabbed for something else (even then I doubt it), no one is sending unmarked mags to the super secret state mag. dating lab, to determine thier age...Of coarse don't be stupid and buy high cap mags for guns that didn't exist befor 1994...
Click to expand...

Or mags that are obviously not pre-ban for that matter. For example, Magpul PMAG or the newer designed Sig Sauer magazines. But honestly, all of my magazines are legitimately pre-ban because the price difference between the two is very minimal now that the rest of the states are selling their magazines to us after the sunset of the AWB. I mean, I got amazing, brand new Colt 30-round pre-ban mags with green followers from gunbroker for $40, which is only about $15 more than you would probably pay new. Is it worth the worry for $15?!
 
My two favorites:

"It's only illegal for a Mass. dealer to sell you post-ban high caps. You can buy them in another state and bring them back, or move in with them, and it's perfectly legal. The law only affects what a dealer can sell."

and

"It's illegal to wear an empty holster in Mass."
 
I can't believe the perennial classic was omitted...

"You can't buy a Ruger 10/22 with an FID card"

So many gun stores parrot this one, even ones I like... [laugh]


-Mike
 
drgrant said:
I can't believe the perennial classic was omitted...

"You can't buy a Ruger 10/22 with an FID card"

So many gun stores parrot this one, even ones I like... [laugh]


-Mike
Click to expand...

Please help me understand the high capacity firearm thing. I never really looked into it since I have an LTC-A. So what you are saying is that, contrary to conventional logic or wisdom, a firearm is a high capacity firearm if:
(1) It is specifically specified on the high capacity roster, or
(2) The owner has a high capacity magazine in his possession/in the weapon?

but not simply that high-capacity magazines are readily available, which they are for the Ruger 10/22 as any MidwayUSA search will prove.
 

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