Massachusetts law about guns and other weapons

Massachusetts laws

In general

• MGL c.140, §§ 121-131P, Sale of firearms. Includes:
  • § 121 Definitions of firearm types.
  • § 129C Non-residents carrying firearms: rifle or shotgun
  • § 131 License to carry: class A or B - resident
  • § 131F License to carry: class A or B - non-resident
  • § 131G Non-residents carrying firearms: pistol or revolver
  • § 131K Firearm safety devices
  • § 131L Storage of weapons
  • § 131P Firearms safety training
• MGL c.269, § 10 Carrying dangerous weapons; possession of machine gun or sawed-off shotguns; possession of large capacity weapon or large capacity feeding device; punishment. Subsection (j) prohibits carrying a weapon on school or university grounds.
• MGL c.269, § 10H Carrying loaded firearm while under influence of liquor, marijuana, narcotic drugs, depressants or stimulant substances; punishment
• MGL c.276, § 58A(1) "The commonwealth may move, based on dangerousness, for an order of pretrial detention...[for a person] arrested and charged with a violation of paragraph (a), (c), or (m) of section 10 of chapter 269 [illegal weapons]."

Bump stocks and trigger cranks

• MGL c.140 § 121 Definitions of bump stocks and machine guns
• MGL c.140 § 131(o) Bans bump stocks and trigger cranks

Crossbows

• MGL c.131, §69  Bows and arrows for hunting.  

Extreme risk protection orders (ERPO)

• §§ 131R-131Y Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO)
  Provides a process for family and household members to ask the court to temporarily take weapons from people who pose a risk to themselves or others.

Pepper spray

• MGL c.140, §122C People over 18 can have pepper spray, mace or other "self defense spray" without an FID card.
• MGL c.140 § 122D Who may not buy or carry pepper spray

Stun guns

• MGL c.140 § 121 Definitions of stun gun
• MGL c.140 § 131J Stun guns - regulation and access. Law allows, but regulates, stun guns
• MGL c.140 § 131L Storage of stun guns

Toy guns and BB guns

• MGL c.148, § 39 Sale of blank cartridges, toy pistols, fireworks
• MGL c. 269, § 12B Air rifles; possession by minors; shooting (including BB guns)

 

Massachusetts regulations

501 CMR 7 Approved weapon rosters

501 CMR 13 Standards for identification cards for retired law enforcement officers

515 CMR 3 Firearms course and instructor certifications and firearms surrender programs

515 CMR 6 Law enforcement officers safety act qualification standards and instructor certification

803 CMR 10 Gun transaction recording

940 CMR 16 Handgun sales

Federal laws

18 USC §§ 921-931 Firearms

• 18 USC  § 922(g)(3) prohibits any person who is an "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802))" from shipping, transporting, receiving or having firearms or ammunition.

Other states' laws

State laws and published ordinances-firearms, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 
"This publication is designed to help Federal firearms licensees (FFL) comply with Federal and State firearms laws; specifically, with the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA)."

Forms

ATF form 4473, Firearms transaction record (form 4473)
Question 11.e says: Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.

Firearms services, Mass. Firearms Records Bureau.
Includes information about firearms licenses, sales, and transfers, appealing a firearms license denial, approved firearms rosters, and firearms laws for the state.

Sample complaint for judicial review of revocation of license, 18 Am. Jur. Pl.& Pr. Forms Municipal Corporations, Counties, Etc. § 46. Available through our Document Delivery Service.

Selected case law

Caetano v. Massachusetts, 577 US __ , 136 S. Ct. 1027(2016).
The US Supreme Court held that the reasoning of the SJC in Comm. v. Caetano, 470 Mass. 774 (2015), in ruling that the Second Amendment didn’t apply to stun guns was incorrect. The US Supreme Court sent the case back to Massachusetts. The case didn’t rule the Massachusetts law, MGL c. 140, § 131J, unconstitutional. 

Chardin v. Boston Police Commissioner, 465 Mass. 314 (2013). 
Massachusetts firearms licensing statute "does not infringe on a right protected by the Second Amendment."

Chief of Police of Taunton v. Caras, 95 Mass. App. Ct. 182 (2019)
Discusses the standard of review when a court is asked to review a decision by the chief of police revoking a firearms license.

Comm. v. Buttimer, 482 Mass. 754 (2019)
A gun "need not be operational to prove either assault by means of a dangerous weapon or armed assault with intent to murder.  It is enough for assault by means of a dangerous weapon that the weapon appear dangerous to the victim of the assault; the weapon does not actually have to be operational."

Comm. v. Cassidy, 479 Mass. 527 (2018)
Large capacity. "[T]o sustain a conviction under G. L. c. 269, § 10 (m), the Commonwealth must prove that a defendant either knew the firearm or feeding device met the legal definition of "large capacity" or knew it was capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition." Provides a model jury instruction in the appendix.

Comm. v. Fettes, 64 Mass. App. Ct. 917 (2005)
A dog can be a dangerous weapon. "A dangerous weapon is 'any instrument or instrumentality so constructed or so used as to be likely to produce death or great bodily harm.' Commonwealth v. Farrell, 322 Mass. 606, 614-615 (1948). See also Anderson, Wharton's Criminal Law and Procedure, § 361. There can be little doubt that a dog . . . used for the purpose of intimidation or attack falls within this definition." 

Comm. v. Garcia, 82 Mass. App. Ct. 239 (2012)
Provides detailed definitions of "dirk knife" and "dagger."

Comm. vs. Garrett, 473 Mass. 257 (2015)   
“This court concluded that a BB gun is not a firearm for purposes of the armed robbery statute, G. L. c. 265, § 17”

Comm. v. McGowan, 464 Mass. 232 (2013)
Court held that "because [the gun storage law, G.L. c.140,] § 131L (a) is consistent with the right to bear arms in self-defense in one's home and is designed to prevent those who are not licensed to possess or carry firearms from gaining access to firearms, it falls outside the scope of the Second Amendment."

Comm. v. Rodriguez, 482 Mass. 366 (2019)
Lengthy discussion of mandatory minimum sentences in GL c.269, § 10. "This court concluded that a criminal defendant who has been convicted of possession of a large capacity feeding device, in violation of G. L. c. 269, § 10 (m), lawfully may be sentenced to State prison for not less than one year nor more than two and one-half years."

Comm. v. Runyan, 456 Mass. 230 (2010)
Trigger locks or locked containers can be required. The Second Amendment isn't incorporated under the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of substantive due process and therefore doesn't apply to the States. Further, the General Laws c. 140, § 131L (a) can be distinguished from the law ruled unconstitutional in Heller, because "an individual with a valid firearms identification card issued under G. L. c. 140, § 129C, is not obliged to secure or render inoperable a firearm while the individual carries it or while it remains otherwise under the individual's control...; the statute therefore does not make it impossible for those persons licensed to possess firearms to rely on them for lawful self-defense."

Comm v. Stephens, 67 Mass. App. Ct. 906 (2006)
A starter pistol that doesn’t have a barrel plug or obstruction in the cylinder that would stop a projectile from passing through the barrel is a firearm.

Comm. v. Veronneau, 90 Mass. App. Ct. 477 (2016)
"The judge's finding that the defendant was guilty of carrying a loaded firearm while under the influence of intoxicating liquor was not inconsistent with the judge's finding that the defendant was not guilty of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor...A condition of probation requiring a criminal defendant to surrender his firearms during the term of his probation did not violate the defendant's constitutional right to bear arms."

District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 US 570 (2008)
"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."

Fletcher v. Haas, 851 F. Supp. 2d. 287 (2012)
"[T]he Massachusetts firearms regulatory regime as applied to [lawful permanent resident aliens], contravenes the Second Amendment." Judgment entered "enjoining denial of firearm licenses and permits to [plaintiffs] solely on the basis of their permanent resident alien status."

Goudreau v. Nikas, 98 Mass. App. Ct. 266 (2020)
G.L. c.140 § 131L applies to firearm dealers and guns kept in a commercial setting. Guns in a store must still be secured as the law requires.

McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 US 742 (2010)
In clearly stating that "the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment makes the Second Amendment right binding on the States," the court also reiterated its statement from Heller that "the right to keep and bear arms is not 'a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.'”

Phipps v. Boston Police Commissioner, 94 Mass. App. Ct. 725 (2019)
"A decision...to revoke the plaintiff's license to carry a firearm was arbitrary and capricious."  "Discussion of the standard of review of the decision to revoke a license to carry a firearm, of the standard to be used by a firearm licensing authority when determining whether to issue a firearm license with restrictions, and of the statutory scheme for firearm licensure."

Ramirez v. Commonwealth, 479 Mass. 331 (2018)
"This court concluded that stun guns are "arms" within the protection of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and that...barring all civilians from possessing or carrying stun guns, even in their home, was inconsistent with the Second Amendment and therefore unconstitutional."

Web sources

Appeal a firearms license denial
If your firearms license was denied, you can appeal the denial at the District Court or in some cases, you can petition the Firearm Licensing Review Board.

Approved weapons rosters, Executive Office of Public Safety
Links to both the Approved firearms roster and the Large capacity firearms roster.

Are you a suitable gun owner? Police chiefs decide, Metrowest News, Jan. 16, 2011
Explains criteria for getting a gun permit in Massachusetts.

Extreme risk guide, Dept. of Mental Health, 2018.
"This guide provides information on resources that may be helpful to individuals, who are seeking an extreme risk protective order, or who had an extreme risk protective order issued against them."

Federal firearms regulations reference guide, Bureau of Alcohol  Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 2014.
“[C]ontains information that will help you comply with Federal laws and regulations governing the manufacture, importation and distribution of firearms and ammunition.”

Guide to the interstate transportation of firearms, NRA Institute for Legislative Action
"Many states and localities have laws governing the transportation of firearms. Travelers must be aware of these laws and comply with legal requirements in each jurisdiction. There is no uniform state transportation procedure for firearms." Provides links to state and federal laws. 

Gun ownership in Massachusetts, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. 
Massachusetts residents 15 years and older who want to possess, carry, and transport firearms, ammunition, and feeding devices are required to have a firearms license. Firearms licenses are issued by municipal police departments. 

Law bars most immigrants from carrying self-defense spray, CommonWealth Magazine, February 2019.
"The penalty is imprisonment for up to two years and a fine of not more than $1,000. The only immigrants exempted from the penalty are green card holders and those who have been victims of domestic violence."

Lots of uncertainty as Mass. bump stock ban takes effect Feb. 1, New England Public Radio, January 29, 2018.
Discusses a letter sent to state firearm permit holders asking them to turn in any bump stocks they may have. 

Massachusetts Crossbow Laws Still Intact, South Coast Today, June 9, 2013
Explains the state's extremely limited crossbow access law (MGL c.131, § 69) with link to the permit application form.

Open letter to all Federal firearms licensees, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, September 21, 2011.
"any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition."

Public safety notice: 3D-printed guns, Mass. Attorney General, August 9, 2018.
"The creation, transfer, or possession of a weapon made with a 3D printer can subject an individual to serious criminal or civil liability under Massachusetts law."

Suitability challenged: the judicial creation of suitability standards for firearms licensing, Mass. Bar Association, Lawyers Journal, June 2014. 
Discusses the “suitable person” standard for getting a firearms license under MGL c.140, § 131(d), (f).

Transporting firearms and ammunition, TSA.
Explains requirements for transporting firearms on planes.

Print sources

Complex issues in trying drug and gun cases in federal and state court, Flaschner Judicial Institute, 2011

Criminal law police manual, Law Enforcement Dimensions, 2018

Firearms in self defense: the Castle Doctrine, stand your ground and other considerations, NBI, 2015.

Guns, drugs and money, MCLE, 2017

Handbook of civil procedure in the District Court, 5th ed., Lawyers Weekly, with supplement.
Chapter 23, Firearms Appeals.

Law enforcement guide to firearms law, Glidden Training and Consulting, 2019

Massachusetts firearm user’s manual 2019: a comprehensive guide to the use, possession and storage of firearms, rifles, shotguns, ammunition and related laws. 2019, William M. Cloran.

Practice in the firearms sessions, MCLE, 2017.

The traveler's gun and knife law book: the essential resource for travelers, hunters and concealed-carry permit holders: Covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Spartan Press, 2012.

Last updated:	January 25, 2021