No weapons of any kind may be brought into the State Ethics Commission’s offices located at One Ashburton Place, Room 619, Boston, Massachusetts for any reason. This policy applies to all Commission members and employees, as well as all persons (including, but not limited to, law enforcement officers) who are attending or participating in proceedings, meetings, seminars, and other events at the Commission’s office, or who are visiting the office for any other purpose. Notice of this policy shall be emailed to Commission staff and posted on the Commission’s website. For purposes of this policy, “weapons” includes, but is not limited to, firearms, knives, batons, tasers, and chemical weapons.
In addition to the notice posted on the website, notice of the Commission’s policy regarding firearms shall be given as follows:
- The Enforcement Division Chief shall ensure that summonses and subpoenas issued to witnesses in connection with interviews, depositions and hearings in Commission matters include this statement: “Weapons, including firearms, may not be brought to this proceeding.”
- The Legal Division Chief shall ensure that scheduling orders and adjudicatory hearing notices in Commission matters shall include this statement: “Weapons, including firearms, may not be brought to this proceeding.”
- The Commission’s weapons policy will be posted in the Commission’s reception area. Anyone who arrives at the Commission’s offices with a weapon will be made aware of the policy and directed to comply with it immediately.
It is the responsibility of persons visiting the Commission’s offices or attending Commission proceedings, meetings, seminars or other events at the Commission’s office to comply with the Commission’s weapons policy and store all weapons safely before arriving at the Commission’s offices. The Commission does not have the capacity to store weapons and will not arrange for the storage of weapons. Anyone found to possess a weapon in violation of this Policy will be directed to remove the weapon from the premises immediately or will be denied admission to the Commission’s offices, including to any proceeding, meeting, seminar or other event. Employees in violation of this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
If you have any questions regarding this policy, please call the Commission’s General Counsel at (617) 371-9500.