If you are among the many individuals who keep a hand gun in your home the following information is important legal news. In any event, not withstanding anything that you may learn in this article PLEASE MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU DO NOT KEEP A HAND GUN AT HOME OR ON YOUR PERSON UNLESS YOU ARE LEGALLY PERMITTED TO DO SO. ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM COULD RESULT IN A JAIL SENTENCE OF A MINIMUM OF ONE YEAR.
Under Massachusetts law it is illegal to keep a handgun "in any place unless such weapon is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock."
Now comes the Supreme Court of the United States and decides that a trigger lock requirement in a District of Columbia law violated the U.S. Constitution. The majority decision in the case found that requiring that the handgun be bound by a trigger lock "makes it impossible for citizens to use (firearms) for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional."
So the question is what is the state of the law in Massachusetts which requires that a handgun be secured in a locked container or be equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock? The answer at the moment is it depends upon what judge the fortunate or unfortunate defendant comes before because the judges in Massachusetts or not uniform in their opinion as to how the Supreme Court decision impacts upon the Massachusetts law.
There have been judges who have dismissed criminal complaints against defendants who have not secured handguns based upon the Supreme Court decision and others who have not. The judges who have not dismissed defendants have relied upon a very interesting argument.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision specifically speaks to the need for self-defense and the availability of the firearm of that purpose. If the homeowner is not home then the firearm is not available to him or her for self defense and therefore the argument that the secured firearm prohibits one from defending themselves does not hold water. These judges argue, therefore, that the only time that firearms can be left unsecured are when the homeowner is at home and at all other times the Massachusetts law applies and is valid and enforceable.
For more reasons than one this office urges you to follow the Massachusetts law. First, it is unsettled as to whether or not any given judge will enforce the law so if you are the owner of a hand gun it is safer from a legal standpoint to obey the law and not find yourself in the unfortunate position of facing a judge who believes that the law has not been relegated to the dust bin by the Supreme Court of the United States. Second, the purpose of the law is to protect the safety of families and make sure that children and others who should not get their hands on weapon do not find themselves with dangerous weapons in their hands. Stay safe legally and on the side of the law and keep your hand guns properly stored in accordance with Massachusetts law. That is the advise from the Law firm of Alford & Bertrand, LLC.
