Concealed Carry in Boston area?

[abrahamsmith]

I was an the brink of stealing this (http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=123815) thread, so I guess I'll start my own.

What can you all tell me about getting a LTC-A (preferably unrestricted) in the Boston area. I may be living there during grad school, starting in 2003 and probably lasting 5 years. I'd be going to school in Cambridge, but I could probably find housing on the south side of the Charles as well. And yes, I've checked http://www.goal.org. An excellent site!

No, don't tell me that it's impossible and that I should move to Utah or Alaska or ... . What "tricks" have worked for others, and how hard is it really?

With my current arsenal, I'll already need a LTC-B to be legal. I'd like to purchase a "standard cap" toy in the next year (thinking a CZ75, possibly compact), and I want to be legal. I'd very much like to carry, espescially living in a large and unfamiliar city with a comparatively high crime rate.

I requested the packet for non-resident LTC-A, which will last 1 year from when I get it (probably all the paperwork and processing will be done by december?) I suppose for a while into grad school, I could not vote there and claim that I'm still a non-resident, but I don't know what the technicalities of "non-resident" are.

So? Help?

[abrahamsmith]

A couple more considerations:

I won't own a pharmacy, and it's highly unlikely I'll be carrying large sums of cash (a grad student, afterall!). The things I want to be able to protect, should the unfortunate occur, are infinitely more important than drugs and money.

By that time, I hope to be an NRA certified instructor for pistol and rifle -- is there any chance that will make me sound more responsible and safer?

[johnwill]

No, don't tell me that it's impossible and that I should move to Utah or Alaska
Well, you pose the impossible scenario. First, you ask the impossible, then you don't want to hear it's impossible! :)

I'd suggest that you check Packing (http://www.packing.org) and check into what they say. FWIW, my daughter has lived in Boston for years, and I've asked various people about it, and they've all concluded that it's pretty much impossible, YMMV.

[JasonReed]

I haven't lived in MA in three years, so I'm assuming nothing has changed except for the new safety standards.

First of all, you need to break out the permit from the restrictions.

Getting the LTC-A shouldn't actually be a problem. The first thing I'd suggest you do is go ahead and get a MA Legal high capacity handgun. That way when you go for your license, you have a very solid reason for getting the LTC-A. You probably won't get any static at all on it.

The catch is the restriction. The Purpose (restriction) is determined in the town where you apply for the license and the VAST majority of police chiefs will not issue a "Personal Defense" or "Any Lawful Purpose" license anymore. (Fitchburg issued "Sport and Any Lawful Purpose" for a while. Moved to Dalton and had to renew, they only issued "Sport and Target." Renewed again in Pittsfield and got "Hunting and Target.") What you'll probably get is a sporting type restriction which means you can buy it, own it, and shoot it but can't carry it concealed anywhere in the state except going to/from a range or hunting trip.

The NRA certification probably won't make any difference. Again, you need to convince the police chief in the town you apply to put "Personal Defense" or "Any Lawful Purpose" on your license, and I guarantee if he/she doesn't already do that there's no way you're gonna convince him/her to make an exception. Heh heh...I won't say it's impossible, I'll just say it'll never happen.

[Smurfslayer]

Getting a class A NON resident LTC BEFORE moving there. NON res LTC's are issued by the MA SP, and so long as you dot all the i's & cross all the t's, have a home state CHL, you are Good to go. BOTH times MSP has been lickety split quick with my LTC.

I see you ordered the packet, but I'm suggesting getting the non res. class a LTC ASAP...

If you get the Non Res, it would be harder for the local chief to make the argument that you're not a 'needy' citizen, since the MSP have concluded otherwise... I don't know if anyone's used this approach successfully, but it would seem to have legal merit...

One would think, anyway...

If you can pass a state wide background check, you should be able to get a MA LTC no problem, so what's the harm ...

HTH

[JasonReed]

Smurfslayer, I've never seen a non-resident permit. Does it also have the Purpose field on it? What did the State Police put on yours?

[CZ Gunner]

I can hear it now .. "Excuse me sir, is that a can of baked beans in your pants, or are you packing?"

[Malpaso]

One possibility you might be overlooking is not living in either Cambridge or Boston. This state isn't that big, and transportation is relatively good. There are many people in the western suburbs who travel into Boston/Cambridge on a daily basis for work and school. There are a number of commuter rail lines that go to North and South stations, and you can take the "T" from there. The housing costs will be much cheaper than the cities as well. Not only that, there are a number of gun clubs/ranges in those towns as well.

[M1911]

First, do you have a CCW in your current state of residence? If you do and can maintain your legal residence in that state, then definitely get a non-resident LTC. You will get a Class A LTC for All Lawful Purposes. Really. There's no trick to it. Just ask for All Lawful Purposes and you will get it. But you MUST have a CCW in your current state of residence. You'll also have to renew the non-resident LTC each year.

Please note that you cannot carry concealed on a Class B LTC, no matter what the reason for issuance. To carry concealed in MA, you must have a Class A LTC and its reason for issuance must be something like "All Lawful Purposes" or "Personal Protection."

As for getting a resident LTC, it's generally relatively easy to get a Class A LTC, but often it is restricted, that is, you cannot carry concealed (only in Massachusetts is a License to Carry not necessarily a License to carry :rolleyes:). Resident LTCs are issued by the chief of police in the town that you reside in. The CLEO has complete discretion in issuing them and in placing any restrictions on them. The reason for issuance and any other restrictions have the force of law. Some chiefs give out Class A LTC for All Lawful Purposes (ALP) to anyone who is not disqualified. In other towns, you'll only get one if you have a picture of the chief with a goat.

In Cambridge, Boston, or Brookline, they are very difficult to get. The only people that I know who have gotten them in those towns own their own business and regularly carry large sums of cash. In Boston you'll have to pass a marksmanship test to get any kind of LTC (even a restricted one).

Newton was terrible, but recently has been issuing ALP. However, I think they just got a new chief. Don't know what the new policy is. Weston and Wayland issue ALP, but you won't be able to live there on a typical grad student income. Natick is hard; so is Sudbury. Waltham was hard, but I think is easing up a bit. I think most of the towns north of Boston (Somerville, Arlington, Winchester, Woburn, etc.) are hard as well. I suggest you join the Mass. Firearms Mailing list (see the GOAL web site) and pose your question there.

Now, suppose you do get a Class A LTC for ALP. You still can't carry on any school grounds and that includes colleges and universities. Unless, of course, you get written permission from the university. You won't get such permission from either Harvard or MIT. If you're at MIT and join the pistol team, you should be able to get permission to bring your unloaded, cased pistol to and from their indoor range. Last I heard, their range was limited to .22lr only.

M1911
MA State Police Certified Firearms Safety Instructor

[abrahamsmith]

Malpaso: yes to looking outside the city for housing -- espescially considering that paying 1500 a month for housing out of a 15-20,000/year stipend isn't very appealing!

M1911: thanks for the comments. It's great to have a list of neighborhoods to look out for.

One thing, though: My understanding based on packing.org and GOAL is that since WI doesn't have CCW of any kind, instead of presenting a copy of my (nonexistent) CCW license to the MA SP, I have to get a letter from a local police chief that I am a right upstanding citizen and generally a nice guy, etc.

[M1911]

abrahamsmith:

The only folks that I know who have gotten a non-resident CCW had CCWs in their states of residence. So I don't know the procedure if you don't have one. It is my understanding that in your case, since WI doesn't issue ANY, that you can actually get one. In contrast, if you lived in NJ, where they theoretically do exist, but not to us mere mortals, you'd be screwed.

Trust the folks at GOAL, they'll steer you right. And join GOAL if you can afford it. Be nice to Nancy Snow and Jon Green at GOAL -- they work their butts off for us and they're good people. Contact me when you land in-country and I can give you some advice on gun clubs.

So, are you going to be attending that small liberal arts school? Or the trade school down the river? ;)

M1911

[mdlowry]

If you wouldn't mind an hour and a half commute, you could live in New Hampshire. The carry permit application is one page (mostly 3 refrences), and shall issue. It's $10 for residents, no training, fingerprinting, etc. From there it would be easy to get a non-resident LTC-A in MA. The hardest part would probably be the commute.