It's FOR THE CHILDREN!
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The next time some liberal, anti-gun asswipe from Massachusetts tries to convince you that the Commonwealth only wants to get rid of "illegal guns", and not the guns owned by law-abiding (and licensed) gun owners, feel free to kick him or her swiftly in the crotch.
And if, while they're bent over in pain, they try to tell you that the Commonwealth respects the 2nd Amendment rights of legitimate gun collectors and sportsmen and that the purpose of Massachusetts gun control is to make life more difficult for the violent criminal population, feel free to roll up a copy of Senate Bill 1354 and shove it where the sun don't shine.
Senate Bill 1354: An Act Regarding the Prevention of Illegal Gun Trafficking and Gun Violence Among Youth in the Commonwealth
[...]
SECTION 13. Said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 128B the following section:-
Section 128C. Whoever not being licensed under section 122 and who purchases or otherwise accepts and keeps within the commonwealth for any period of time more than 15 firearms during any 1 year period shall be punished by not more than 5 years in state prison and the licensing authority shall suspend any license or identification card issued under this chapter to such person for a period not to exceed 3 years*. This section shall not apply to firearms bequeathed through trust or devise.
Related:
Section 122. The chief of police [...] may [...] grant a license to any person except [list of prohibited person] to sell, rent or lease firearms, rifles, shotguns or machine guns, or to be in business as a gunsmith.
Yep.
Even if you successfully jumped through the financial and bureaucratic hoops required to get a License to Carry a Firearm (LTC) in Massachusetts, it would be against the law for you to have more than 15 firearms in your possession at any given time.
Unless, of course, you applied for, and were issued, a state license to "sell, rent or lease firearms, rifles, shotguns or machine guns". Apparently, as soon as the state gets another $100 out of you (and forces you to navigate a second round on the feel-good, do-nothing licensing obstacle course), your gun collection would magically cease being a threat to THE CHILDRENTM of Massachusetts .
Can't you just hear the crime rate falling?
Like a rock, baby!
Obligatory side note: The leftnuts proposing garbage like this are the same hypocritical idiots who will tell you with a straight face that requiring a person to show a photo ID in order to vote amounts to an unconstitutional and discriminatory poll tax.
And, not that you need another example of how the Commonwealth of Massachusetts gets off treating law-abiding gun owners like criminals, but check out the paragraph before the one highlighted above (Section 12).
SECTION 12. Said section 128B of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 14 and 15, the words “Whoever violates any provision of this section” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- Whoever, being unauthorized to make such sale or transfer or whoever sells or makes such transfer to person unauthorized to receive such a weapon in violation of this section or section 128A shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 2 ½ years in the house of correction or not more than imprisonment for 5 years in state prison. Whoever fails to make such report with the licensing authority and the criminal history systems board within the executive office of public safety, within 7 days of such sale or transfer,.
If I'm reading this right...
Say you're a competitive target shooter in Massachusetts, who's reached his 15-gun limit, and you purchase a target pistol as a last-minute replacement for a broken one the day before a shooting competition. You'd be looking at a possible five years in state prison - the same sentence that a career felon in Dorchester would face for selling stolen guns to gang members from the trunk of his car.
"Common sense".
In addition, that part about getting your LTC suspended "for a period not to exceed 3 years" is 100% pure, unadulterated Bay State bullshit at its finest. A person is considered permanently ineligible to be issued a License to Carry in Massachusetts for "conviction of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for more than two years".
So, what they're not telling you is that if you are found guilty of the grievous crime of gun collecting, your LTC would get suspended for three years, after which time it would be revoked for life.
Personally, I hope this latest bit of legislative ass-reaming becomes law, as I know of several gun owners for whom this would be the last straw that gets them to rip up the tent stakes and hop the northern border for good.
UPDATE: Here are the idiots proposing SB1354 who would have you believe this piece of legislation would have any effect on illegal gun trafficking or youth gang violence in the inner city.
Former State Senator Jarrett Barrios (this guy is like herpes to Massachusetts' law-abiding gun owner population - he never really goes away)
State Representative Stephen R. Canessa
Marie P. St. Fleur (no additional commentary required)
State Senator Mark C. Montigny - I don't know much about him, but the fact that he's standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Barrios and St. Fleur on this bill pretty tells you all you need to know about Mr. Montigny and his "principles".
Now, for the good news.
NES member, Lxpony, received this response from State Senator Stephen Brewer's office regarding the recent committee hearing for this atrocity of a bill.
Senator Brewer does not anticipate, although it is impossible to predict with absolute certainty, that any of the above mentioned legislation will be favorably reported out of the committee.
Be that as it may, always keep in mind that when the forces of evil start talking about common sense "compromise" on gun control legislation, the aforementioned bill is exactly what they have in mind.
In their eyes, the current level of restrictive gun laws in Massachusetts does not represent their desired goal or reflect what they see as "common sense" gun control, but is merely the point from which gun rights advocates are to begin their negotiations when the next round of "compromise" talks kicks off.
As long as the goal posts continue to shift asymptotically toward a complete ban on the private possession of firearms, they'll always get to play the "compromise" card with impunity, knowing that no one outside the minority gun owner population will ever call them on it.
Gee, I miss Massachusetts.
UPDATE II: Reader HerrBGone, blogging at The Eclectic Dragonfly, has more.
