anyone from Massachusetts?

[bradley]

My job may require moving to Cambridge, MA.
Would being a firearms enthusiast in Massachusetts be as horrible as I imagine?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[HotGuns]

probably...

[Chooie]

You will be working, or living in Cambridge? If you're just working there, you may want to take a look at some of the towns within 20-30 minutes north on I93. You may have an easier time getting an LTC-A ALP from a smaller town's police chief. Billerica comes to mind as an example - they have a history of leaning toward the "shall issue" side of things, and is a reasonable (15-20 minutes, non-rush hour) commute from Cambridge/Boston.

There's a guide at PDO that shows the tendencies of each locale.
http://www.packing.org/state/massachusetts/#localities

Whatever you do, make sure you follow the letter of the law when it comes to moving your belongings, firearms included, to MA. You may have some hoops to jump through if you own guns that aren't on the AG approved list, or own hi-cap mags.

Good luck!

[whitetrashfarm]

Don't do it.
Taxes are crazy.
I live about 28 miles north of Boston and it can take anywhere from 40 minutes to 2 hours to get there.
LTC [liscence to carry] is up to each town or city police cheif. If they do not like your looks you can be denied.
You can't buy or carry any gun you want. There is a list of approved guns.
Good Luck

[LenS]

You have my sympathy!!

Cambridge is one of the most liberal places on Earth, in one of the most liberal states.

Arlington is just up the road from Cambridge and they allegedly issue LTC-A/ALP (the only version that allows "carry") with no real hassle. You will NOT get a carry permit from Cambridge unless you are very well connected politically.

You can bring your guns with you . . . all of them, provided:

- NO hi-cap mags made after 9/13/94, and
- NO so-called SAWs that aren't pre-9/13/94 (we have the same ban that the Feds let sunset a few years ago).

You can ignore comments about guns on "Lists" wrt what you own. We do not ban any handguns. For a MA DEALER to sell/transfer them, they must be on a List created by EOPS or have been "in MA on 10/21/98" plus meet the AG's Regulations (the AG has never approved or created any List). However, private transactions between MA Residents are perfectly legal (max 4/year) even if the handgun isn't on the "approved List".

You do NOT have to register anything (other than F/A) that you bring into MA when you move and you have a "grace period" to possess them without a MA LTC. You will need to take a MA State Police approved course in order to apply for a MA LTC, so you need to move on this as soon as possible as our licensing process can take anywhere from 1 month to 6+ months (Boston in particular, for a crippled license).

If you want a lot more info, visit the forums focused on the Northeast in my sig line and check out the Sticky at the top of the Gun Laws Forum.

Good luck.

[Chooie]

You can ignore comments about guns on "Lists" wrt what you own. We do not ban any handguns. For a MA DEALER to sell/transfer them, they must be on a List created by EOPS or have been "in MA on 10/21/98" plus meet the AG's Regulations (the AG has never approved or created any List). However, private transactions between MA Residents are perfectly legal (max 4/year) even if the handgun isn't on the "approved List".

Thanks for bringing that to my attention. So basically, any handgun introduced to market with proprietary magazines of a capacity >10 AFTER 9/13/94 must have 10 round magazines, since there are no "pre-ban" magazines available... right? So, no XD, M&P, etc. hi-caps, at all, are now, or will ever be (under current law) legal in MA?

That bites, I was hoping to pay my fifty bucks and pick up a non-res permit just to carry the next time I went to visit family... call it a travel tax, if you want... I'd hate to have to buy a pair of 10 round mags just for that.

[LenS]

Yes, even visitors (unless LE) are forbidden to possess "new" hi-caps in MA (unless driving straight thru under FOPA).

BTW: It's $100 for a 1-year NR LTC (unless Military, I think they get it for 2 years at same price).

[Chooie]

Oh, they upped it?

Fantabulous.

Looks like the next time I see them is going to be when I can convince them that coming down here is a better idea.

[bradley]

Thanks very much for the information.
I'll likely have to move to either MA or CA. Neither make me happy.

[Chooie]

Thanks very much for the information.
I'll likely have to move to either MA or CA. Neither make me happy.

Given the option, I'd say you're better off choosing MA, and here's why - New Hampshire, and full, shall issue, Class III/NFA, sales tax free existence is only 35 miles up the highway from Boston. If you can suck up the commute, living in a southern NH town like Pelham, Windham, Derry/Londonderry, or Salem may be an option for you.