It's Andy Fish!

The posts from the last two days brought in a couple of questions, so we interrupt whatever I had scheduled here to answer them.

Question 1 – HOW DOES SOMONE GET A LICENSE TO CARRY

It depends not only on your state but your county– in some jurisdictions the Chief of Police issues it and in others a State Police Captain does. Consult your local laws for what you need to do. In Massachusetts it starts with an application to your local police.

REQUIREMENTS

• Be at least 21 years of age.
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien.
• Successfully complete a Massachusetts State Police-approved firearms safety course or a Basic Hunter Education course.
• Be deemed a “suitable person” to possess a license by the police chief.
• Not have a disqualifying criminal history, including any felony conviction, certain misdemeanor convictions, or a history of domestic violence.
• Not be subject to a restraining order or outstanding warrant.
• Not have been dishonorably discharged from the armed forces.
• Not have been committed to a hospital for mental illness or substance abuse, unless you can provide a doctor’s endorsement.

Some local police departments offer the firearms course for a nominal fee, in Worcester for example it’s only $10 or $20.

You need three letters of recommendations from people who are not employers or relatives.

You submit everything and they take your picture and fingerprint you and then you SHOULD have your license within 6 weeks, SHOULD be the operative word because there was a point where they were so backed up it was six months.

Once you get it the permit is valid for five years and then you have to submit a renewal form which is much simpler than the amount of paperwork you need for your original permit. You’ll also get an FID PIN which is extremely important if you plan on buying anything.

Once you have a firearm permit you’re going to want to go to a gun range and try out some pistols there– I recommend Mass Firearms in Ashland because they have a large selection of pistols to try out.

Once you decide to buy one (and you can buy one there if you want) you can check around, I recommend Four Seasons in Woburn with the highest possible recommendations.

If you don’t want to own a firearm or bear the responsibility of it you can buy a stun gun (and believe it or not in MA you must have a firearm permit to own a stun gun).

But that’s the process and more importantly it’s your right.

When I visited Lexington and Concord a few years ago I was surprised that we used to have a law in place that once you hit 17 you MUST own a gun– how far we’ve come– and all of you pearl clutches who think where we are now is better– I hope you’re never in a situation where you need one.