The statute: It is a crime to knowingly possess a firearm outside your home or business without a valid license to carry (LTC) or a firearm identification (FID) card, unless a specific exemption applies.
What the Commonwealth must prove:
- The defendant knowingly possessed an item.
- That item was a “firearm” as the law defines it — a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, or other weapon designed to, or readily convertible to, expel a shot or bullet.
- The defendant possessed it outside his or her residence or place of business.
- The defendant did not hold a valid license to carry or FID card, and no statutory exemption applied.
Penalties: A conviction for carrying a firearm without a license carries a mandatory minimum of 18 months and up to 5 years in state prison, and the sentence cannot be suspended or reduced below the 18-month mandatory minimum. A conviction will permanently affect Massachusetts licensing suitability.
In plain English: In Massachusetts, having a gun without the right license is not a paperwork problem — it is a mandatory-jail felony-level charge, even if the gun was never pointed at anyone and you bought it legally somewhere else. A license from another state does not count here.
How these cases are defended:
- Moving to suppress the firearm where it was found through an unlawful stop, frisk, vehicle search, or home entry — without the gun, there is usually no case.
- Disputing knowing possession, especially where a gun was found in a shared car or apartment.
- Testing whether the item meets the statutory definition of a firearm and whether it was operable as required.
- Examining licensing records and exemptions, including new-resident and other statutory exceptions.
This page is general information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice about any specific case. If you are charged with a crime, contact Davis Law Firm, P.C., 132 Lincoln Street, Suite 5L, Boston, MA 02111, (617) 297-4837.
