According to Tam they’re raiding TJIC’s House.
I have no idea about the particulars in this case, the back-story is here.
Speaking in general about Massachusetts firearms law: You need a permit to OWN guns in Massachusetts. These permits allow you to posses guns and ammo, and allow you to buy them.
Some info here on permits, but thumbnail they go like this.
All permits are issued for 5 years, and all but the Class D FID cost $100
FID (Firearms Identification Card): They come in Class D and Class C. D is for PEPPER SPRAY and other defensive sprays ONLY, and is $25. yes it is a crime to carry defensive sprays in Massachusetts without a firearms permit. C allows you to buy and posses Long guns that are considered under Massachusetts law as “Low Capacity”. The General understanding is a “High Capacity gun” is a gun who’s standard magazine accepts more than 10 rounds for rifles, or 5 rounds for shotguns.
LTC (License to Carry Firearms) they come in Class B and A. Don’t be fooled by the name, this is NOT automatically a carry permit! Class B) allows the bearer to buy “Large Capacity” long guns, and handguns, but not “High Capacity handguns”. Open carry is technically legal in Massachusetts with this permit, but more on that, Class B permit holders may NOT carry concealed.
Class A, allows you to buy any guns or ammo that are legal in the state. This permit can be restricted by your law enforcement issuer. Common restrictions are “Employment Only”, or “Target and Hunting Only”. These permits you can only carry a firearm on your property, or in the case of “Employment Only” while you are at work. If there are no restrictions THIS is the Massachusetts Carry Permit.
OK onto issue, FID cards are “Shall Issue”, if you can pass a background check, and your payment clears you WILL be issued this permit. LTC cards are different, they are “MAY Issue”, and any applicant can be denied issuance for any reason. Any permit holder may have their permit revoked for any reason. The only formality is that the Chief Law Enforcement Officer must inform you in writing WHY they are refusing you.
Remember that bit about open carry in Massachusetts? There have been several cases of ACCIDENTAL exposure by Mass LTC A holders (I can think of no direct Open carry stories), and in all cases the gun owner was detained, and made to show his card. At a later date the card was revoked, or re-issue wad denied. The reason given was “Bad Judgement”, the token catch-all for over-zealous police who hate guns in Massachusetts.
Now for TJIC, he HAD an LTC A, and it was revoked for some off-color political statements he made. He has been re-issued an FID. Since Massachusetts has universal registration, he likely has “Large Capacity” firearms, and/or handguns registered to his name. I suspect a warrant was issued to seize those guns, as it is a crime to posses them without the proper licenses.
This is how bad it is as a gun owner in Massachusetts. When I renewed my permit this year I was getting very close to possessing my guns illegally simply because the card renewal system is so bogged down with new applicants. I also renewed my Maine permit. In Maine I can open carry, or simply posses and shoot my guns in a legal fashion without a permit. The fact that my Maine permit took forever to renew is an inconvenience, the fact that my property becomes a CRIME because the system is Broken in Massachusetts is a tragedy!
We’ll see where this goes.
