NV resident moving to MA nd LTC-A for G23 w/ 13rd Mag

[G23&me]

I'm a Nevada resident and I recently bought a Glock 23, legally in Nevada and registered it here in Nevada.

I was transferred (work- I'm an engineer) and next month I'm moving to Massachusetts. I want to take my Glock with 13 round magazines to Mass. Do I need to register them with the state or town/city? I'll be moving to Wakefield, Malden, or Saugus. What city do I have the best chance of getting a LTC-A? I want the LTC-A for home protection and range practice. Will I have trouble getting a LTC-A becuase I don't have a dangerous job or stocker?

This is what I found out about the gun itself.

First, I looked online and I found lots of conflicting info.

One website said you can only possess pre 1998 or 1994 Glock 23 and another website stated that as long as I bought the gun when I was a resident of Nevada and then I moved it to Mass, I can legally possess it with a LTC-A.

Second, I called two gun shops in Massachusetts. One shop told me that my gun was not allowed in Mass because of the serial number not being a pre 1998. The other told me that as long as I bought the gun when I was a resident of Nevada and then I moved it to Mass, I can legally possess it with a LTC-A. But, he suggested I call the attorney generals office and ask the to be sure.

So, I called the AG’s office and they couldn’t remember the name of the department I needed but they knew the phone number. When I called the no name place, they told me that I had indeed called the right place and he told me that as long as I bought the gun when I was a resident of Nevada and then I moved it to Mass, I can legally possess it with a LTC-A and I must complete the LTC-A within 60 days. When asked him to email me his response for backup he declined and pointed me to some mass gun law chapter and section and told me it was one of the paragraphs in there.

I am pretty much happy with the AG’s answer. But, just to make sure I called the Mass State Police HQ and the officer I asked did not know the answer but he let me leave a message for someone who may know.

Does anybody have any advice for me here on this matter? Has anyone gone through this process?

Thanks,
G23&ME

 

[TargetTerror]

G23, I live in Massachusetts. I'm sorry you got transferred here We have the worst firearms laws in the nation, possibly second only to California.

I've been dealing with a lot of the same questions and crap that you are dealing with, as I have a friend moving back to MA from Seattle. The short answer is that you can legally bring any handgun with you into the state when you move here. You then have 60 days to acquire your LTC. Of course, it usually takes FAR longer to get your LTC, which raises a whole other set of issues. You do not have to register any gun you bring here (triple check on that, though).

The confusion comes from what FFL dealers cannot transfer. There are 2 lists, and if a gun is not on both, an FFL cannot transfer it to a citizen. That is the only regulation, however. Possession of non-MA compliant pistols is not an offense at any level, provided you ahve the proper license to own a rifle or handgun.

LTC Class A unrestricted allows you to have any hicap handgun, and carry said handgun anywhere in the state where it isn't prohibited. Since nobody around here even knows that it is possible to carry, no businesses prohibit carry. So you are just limited by statutory restrictions. Class A issuances is may issue, so many Police Chiefs will issue a restricted license. Call GOAL (see below) to determine which town is most gun friendly.

Consider also living in souther NH. It's ~30-40 miles to downtown boston, though the commute can be long during rush hour. But it is truly live free or die up there.

The best people for you to call is GOAL. They are MA's NRA, and much better and more informed to boot. You can find them at www.goal.org, or call them directly at 508.393.5333. They know MA laws better than any bureaucrat.

 

[sdj]

In what city do I have the best chance of getting an LTC-A?

I would recommend calling the American Firearms School (http://www.americanfirearmsschool.com/) to learn more on this subject. They are located in North Attleboro, MA (South Eastern MA).

Permits issued vary widely from town to town, city to city.

Good luck!

 

[Procarry]

Arlington, Wakefield and Malden you're likely to get an unrestricted LTC Class-A

Saugus is unsure. Boston, Brookline, Cambridge are definate negatives

 

[outofbattery]

You may find things easier requesting a restricted Class A but unless you're oddly morally opposed to concealed carry,why not just ask for an All Lawful Purposes permit? There are some rediculously anti-RKBA chiefs in MA but it's not nearly as grim as some make it out.How easy life is for a MA gunowner largely depends upon the view of the town's CLEO.Mine sets A-ALP as the default license and is essentially shall issue.My neighboring town issues a restricted Class B to most and with enough pleading will occasionally issue a restricted A but doesn't believe that any "civilian" should carry.Most towns will issue restricted Class A's without much hassle.

There are many screwy aspects to Mass gun law,among them is that the restriction on what handguns can be sold applies to dealers,not individuals.For example,you can move to MA with your Glock and turn a couple hundred dollar profit on it immediately if it's a 3rd gen gun by selling it to someone in a face to face transfer.However,a dealer could not take your post 98 Glock in on trade and sell it to another MA resident.

You're not just dealing with the MA laws on handguns though,you're also looking at still living under the Assault Weapons Ban.MGL says that unless your magazines are pre-94,they are illegal.Glock themselves say that there is no 100% way of proving the age of a magazine,regardless of what many websites show as the evolution of Glock mags but there was a rumor on the Northeast shooter's forum that some LEO was spouting off about being able to tell the age of illegal Glock mags and was waiting to throw the book at scofflaws.Other than being marked For LE and Mil. Only,virtually nobody can tell.When I bought my factory refurbed Glock 22 from a MA dealer ( yes,the same dealer that can't sell a new Glock can sell pre-98 factory refurbished ones) it came with 2 new magazines and Glock was saying that they had an incredible amount of pre-94 mags left.Hmm,wonder why they didn't make a killing on them when they were trading for $100 each during the height of the ban...What is the actual age of my magazines? I don't know,I'm not going to send them to CSI Las Vegas to analyze the polymer and what the gun shop and Glock says are fine by me.

As you have experienced,not even many LEO's are 100% on the ball concerning MGL.My first call to the Criminal History Systems Board gave me 100% wrong information but I would have had no proof of making the call to them and getting said bad info.A friend of mine in another town bought a cop's duty P226 and was given 3 marked magazines with it.Upon asking the chief,he was told that " the ban went away and you have a Class A so it's fine".Obviously,neither of those LEO's are going to be making arrests based on magazines by an otherwise lawful gun owner but they would be fairly quickly felony material for most.

Play it safe and err on the side of rediculousness when it comes to gun laws but it's not nearly as grim here as some make it out to be.While we're still saddled with the AWB and AG's list for new handguns,we're a hell of a lot better off than those in NYC,Illinois,MD,NJ,CA and when you get your Class A,the restrictions on where one can carry are miniscule compared to many of the so called gun friendly states,like ever Texas.

 

[G23&me]

Thanks for the info.

My record is pretty clean, so I'm not woried about the background check. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Chipperman]

Call GOAL first. They will help you out. Then join GOAL right away.

Also check out northeastshooters.com. They have a list of MA Towns and rate their relative willingness to grant a Class A ALP license.

------------------------
Yes you can bring the Glock. No you do not need to register it, but if you ask the State, they will tell you otherwise. THERE IS NO LAW THAT YOU MUST REGISTER GUNS BROUGHT IN.

Most Police do not know the laws. Even some gun shops are confused, as you found out. They know what they need to do legally, but are often not clear what others (Non-FFLs) can and cannot do legally.

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ANY MAGS MUST BE PREBAN!!
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ANY NEW PISTOLS YOU MAY WANT, BUY THEM NOW BEFORE YOU MOVE.

 

[Dirtypacman]

Another MA resident (not a gun friendly state by any means)

+1 Goal - you should become a member ASAP -
+1 Northeastshooters is great place to go also

Getting an LTC-A varies as stated above - you can do a search on northeastshooters also to see if anyone has experience in those 3 cities you had discussed.

 

[Hiaboo]

Moving in is tricky but the other members have covered it adequately. Especially with the connection to northeastshooters.com I am a resident of Chatham. So's my father/uncle. They have their LTC-A since they were able to get them way back. However now they're becoming more leery about handing out these. I got in trouble when I was younger (very very stupid, I never EVER thought about this affecting my chances of getting a LTC-A later on but it did) My records are clean, I pass the federal/state background checks..

However when i applied for my LTC-A, it went through all good until it got to the chief, he was pretty much like 'I remember this boy.. NO LTC FOR YOU!' I wanted to appeal it but I could not since I was out of state at school... So I'll be talking to the lawyers from the northeastshooters and getting facts down about this, and hopefully get the process re-done and gone over again and be prepared to appeal it in a heartbeat... Basically what I'm saying here is, if your nose is clean you shouldn't have a problem.

Another big thing about guns in-state. If the guns were in state before 1994? and had papers to prove it, it can be sold ffl to person. If it was not or there's no papers for it then, you can just forget about it - sell it out of state is OK but coming in state? nope. A lot of things are restricted here which is poo poo. It has to be on the AG's "secret list"... Another good place/people to talk to is http://www.fsguns.com/ Good luck.

 

[Chipperman]

If the guns were in state before 1994? and had papers to prove it, it can be sold ffl to person. If it was not or there's no papers for it then, you can just forget about it - sell it out of state is OK but coming in state? nope.

The date is October 1998. There is no legal requirement for "papers", but a lot of FFLs in MA follow those guidelines to protect themselves. You can still sell a non-MA-compliant gun privately, an FFL just cannot sell it in state.

If you want to make some quick friends in the state, buy some non-compliant pistols now. Then when you get tired of them you can sell them to people in MA. You can sell up to four guns a year privately.

 

[Hiaboo]

What chipperman said is very true... Very true. Bring stuff that's not on the list.

 

[outofbattery]

I've been hoping someone would buy a Five Seven on a whim,move to MA and decide to sell it to me dirt cheap...

What?!? A boy can dream!

It goes without saying but there is an enormous amount of disinformation and misunderstanding about MA gun laws.I sold most of my first collection of firearms before moving to MA having been told that it was all but impossible to own any firearms here.It was less hassle to get my ALP LTC than it was to get my drivers license changed over when I finally went down and asked,prepared to face rejection.I cry for what a replacement P7M13 would cost in MA gun dollars.Of course I had no internet at the time but it still stings.
Even MA gun owners will often come up with things like " you can't travel through Boston with an AR " or " it's illegal to carry in Boston/illegal to carry any large cap mags" that are miles off the mark,rather than a minor misunderstanding of the law.One of the more common ones is believing that it's illegal to shoot at silhouette targets.When it comes to the law,take advice and trust-but verify.

 

[G23&me]

OK... It's been a while... So I've been in MA since 2008... I just applied for my LTC-A and I should have it in my hand in 2-3 months. Yup... I'm a procrastinator. A buddy of mine has been holding the G23 in Maine. How the heck do I bring it to MA and register it?

 

[bushmaster1313]

Boston, Brookline, Cambridge are definite negatives

It is well known that Cambridge has an operating nuclear reactor at the M.I.T. campus

http://web.mit.edu/nrl/www/

You'd think they would not mind handguns.

 

[G23&me]

When I bought my glock 23 new in NV back in 2007 it came with 2 13 round mags. Then I bought a 15 round (glock 22) mag and a 10 round mag (.357 which fits .40 cal). I bought all back in 2007 in NV. The gun and the clips are not pre ban. I have been the only registered and actual owner of the gun, but it is currently in another state. What can I legally bring to MA? What steps do I need to take if I just got my LTC-A in 2012? Thanks.

 

[highlander 5]

You can bring your glock here but the mags have to stay in NV. IANAL but your best bet is to fly out and pick up your pistol and bring it back once you have your LTC. Check the airline and the TSA website on how to pack your pistol for flying. Once your back got to Northeastshooters.com you should be able to find preban mags there. If in doubt about what to do contact Jesse Cohen he's one of several lawyers that specializes in firearms law here in Ma he'll set you straight.