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Not Lawson Clarke's gun (courtesy cognoscenti.wbur.org)

“As a gun owner, I’m perfectly comfortable with the notion of sensible gun control,” Lawson Clarke writes at cognoscenti.wbur.org, “In the stark light of recent tragedies, I’d say the process of acquiring my first firearm in Massachusetts was exactly as difficult as it needed to be.” Mr. Clarke is a member of the genus “Fudd”: an anti-gun rights gun owner (named after the hapless hunter Elmer Fudd). The Hill Holiday advertising creative director goes to great lengths to tell the world – well, public radio – that he’s OK with a regulatory process that would have Democrats howling with righteous indignation if even half of it applied to, say, voting rights. Here are his beloved hurdles . . .

STEP 1: I enrolled in a four-hour firearms safety course registered with the state.

STEP 2: I joined a properly licensed gun club to demonstrate I was merely interested in hunting and recreational shooting. While this was by no means mandatory, it was encouraged by my local police department.

STEP 3: I then visited my local police station where I presented my application for a license to carry, my firearm safety certificate and a letter from my gun club stating my membership was in good standing.

STEP 4: Along with my paperwork I had to pay a $100 application fee. NOTE: In Massachusetts a firearms license is only valid for six years, and the $100 application fee is due any time I reapply.

STEP 5: I sat through a face-to-face interview with a police officer and submitted to a preliminary background check.

STEP 6: My photo and fingerprints were taken and filed digitally with the Massachusetts State Police, along with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the national criminal records database.

STEP 7: I made an appointment at the police firing range on Moon Island in Boston Harbor to demonstrate my proficiency with a firearm in front of a state trooper.

STEP 8: I waited approximately 30 days for my license to be approved.

STEP 9: My class A license to carry arrived in the mail.

STEP 10: I visit a nearby gun store, which by law is registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as well as the Massachusetts Firearms Records Bureau. After presenting my license to the clerk, I was then allowed to browse the store’s inventory.

STEP 11: I selected my very fist firearm: a 30/30 Winchester Model 94, a tried and true staple of New England deer hunting.

STEP 12: While in the store I submitted to yet another background check, this time over the phone with the FBI.

STEP 13: I waited three days.

STEP 14: I returned to the store and picked up my Winchester 30/30, effectively adding my name to the list of over 250,000 legal gun owners in Massachusetts.

The gun in the photo accompanying the article [above] is not a Winchester 30-30. It’s a bolt-action somethingorother, strategically chosen because it’s the least “fearsome” firearm for pearl-clutching WBUR-listening antis.

Winchester Model 94 (courtesy gunliberty.com)

I’d like it to be known that a Winchester Model 94 [above] fires armor piercing bullets! It can loose eight rounds fasterthanthis. So what we have here is an “assault rifle.” One can easily imagine a day when Massachusetts burghers add STEP 15 . . .

STEP 15: Note new law prohibiting “high-powered” repeating rifles, sell Winchester to out-of-state buyer

Can you connect those dots Mr. Lawson? No, I suppose you can’t. Or won’t. Same diff.

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123 COMMENTS

    • Sounds to me like he’s just another person from Massachusetts who likes Massachusetts and can’t fathom that constitutional carry exists in 2 other New England states, or that being able to rent and buy full autos and get a carry permit in 4 days for $10 exists about 30 minutes to 2 hours north of him.

      Oh and the M94 isn’t a New England hunting gun. That title, courtesy of the Benoit Brothers, is the 7600.

  1. So the government of the people, by the people and for the people resides over the people and can choose yes or no over your constitutional and natural rights. Sounds about right for a socialist country.

  2. Wait a minute, you need a license to carry, just to buy a damn lever action deer rifle in Massachusetts? If all you are interested in is hunting and recreational shooting, what’s the point in a carry license in the first place? Or maybe this idiot doesn’t know what the paper he’s shelling out a $100 for every six years actually gives him permission to do.

    • I’m inclined to think this guy now has a CCW and either doesn’t realize it, or more likely, is anti-gun enough that he won’t admit he has one.

      Either way, he’s part of the problem. The only positive I can see from this is that he purchased a firearm, thereby giving business to Winchester.

      • It’s been a few years since I went through the hell of trying to get a firearm in Massachusetts, but when I did it there were three types of firearms permits:

        FID: For long guns

        License-to-carry Class B: To buy a handgun and keep it at home

        LTC Class A: CCW

        I had a LTC Class A. However, it does sound like the law has changed since I lived there, because I had never had to do any kind of live firing.

        • So, Ralph, since I’m working in Boston for a year: would I even be allowed to go shooting with you – that is, without attempting to jump through the hoops for a non-resident permit?

        • This is yet another state to avoid like the plague . Do not enter unless absolutely necessary and spend no money there unless you are sure you won’t make it across the border with out obtaining more fuel and if this is the case , purchase only what is absolutely necessary to get you to a gun friendly states fueling station .
          If you live in Mass , start preparations to move and let everyone know why you are leaving , on any social media site available to you . Send a strong message to all the Mass law makers , you won’t participate in their economy if they insist on trampling yours and your families rights . RUN .

        • Wow, that’s horrible. New York’s permitting process for CCW is arbitrary and cumbersome, but we at least don’t need permits for long guns (well, the long guns we can still buy).

        • @Chip Bennett, you don’t need a permit for target practice when you’re with someone who has carry permit, which I do. I’m also a state police certified instructor, which isn’t necessary to shield you but there it is anyway. 🙂

          Just don’t bring your guns. There are limited exceptions to shield a non-licensed person who is transporting guns in the Commonwealth (on your way to a from a competition for example, or hunting with a hunting license), but sadly, I don’t think that any of the exceptions will apply to you. 🙁

          You sould be eligible for a one-year nonresident permit, but the process is lengthy.

      • He lives in Boston or Brookline (per the range test) no way he has a unrestricted LTC, unless of course he is politically connected.

        • I know a couple of guys who live in Boston and have full carry licenses (unrestricted LTC-A) and neither are connected. But it is very uncommon.

    • Having lived in MA for 31 years and being a NRA instructor and LTC (License-to-Carry) holder, you DO need a LTC or FID (Firearms Identification Card). The FID is only good for long guns and the LTC required for handguns and handgun ammo…

      You need one or the other to hunt, clearly, and they both cost $100 for 6 years.You dont need a range membership nor do you need to qualify in front of an LEO. Maybe this was a Boston city ordiance or something. The 3 days mentioned for waiting must have been a NICS thing… its not required by MA. You should be able to clear NICS and leave with your firearm the same day.

      That all being said, I finally got the heck out of there and moved to the gun friendly south (SC to be exact) and dont regret it one bit!!!

      • Thanks for the clarification. I’m just glad to be in the mostly free state of Pennsylvania. More people in this state need to know what hoops people in close by states need to jump through. I know MD, NJ and NY have totalitarian gun laws and I knew MA was bad, just not exactly how bad when it came to long guns.

      • “That all being said, I finally got the heck out of there and moved to the gun friendly south (SC to be exact) and don’t regret it one bit!!!”

        More job friendly to.

        • Unless you work in healthcare, education, Biotech, Pharmaceuticals, or life science research. Mass pretty much owns Life science and education. Only reason I still live here. Thought about moving to San Diego for Biotech but CA is worse then MA. Austin has some up and coming Biotech but if MA is already too hot for me I don’t think I can handle Texas. North Carolina is doing good things for Biotech/pharma but still not enough to lure me away…. Now I just focus on putting away lots of the ridiculous money I get paid to buy a couple hundred acres in Maine or Vt.

        • Sorry, That Guy, buy judging from the list above, CA is not as restrictive as MA. Not even close. CA is second in the country in total gun ownership.

    • This sounds less like an actual person going through an actual process than it does like some anti-2A journalist enumerating the gun-grabbers’ wet dream of their idea of the ideal process for owning a (hunting and target only) gun.

      I want to see a picture of this guy with his new rifle actually shooting something.

      • That was my line of thinking, too. That someone from Dumberg’s group pretending to be a gun owner decided to see if they could make people believe they were gun owners

    • Both Boston and Brookline require live fire at the BPD Moon Island range. I don’t know of any other cities or town in the state that require live fire before a representative of the licensing authority; but i could be wrong on that. Massachusetts has 351 or so cities and towns and the Chief in each town has fairly broad discretion in whatever additional requirements they want to impose beyond those required by statute.

  3. If this was just to obtain a firearm instead of a CCW, why did he have to ‘demonstrate proficiency in front of a state trooper’? This suggest that only people who already own firearms (and have had range time) are qualified to make a purchase. What’s the beginner supposed to do, give up?

  4. STEP 1: I enrolled in a four-hour firearms safety course registered with the state.

    Such courses do not prevent crime, and have no discernible impact on accidental firearms death/injury.

    STEP 2: I joined a properly licensed gun club to demonstrate I was merely interested in hunting and recreational shooting. While this was by no means mandatory, it was encouraged by my local police department.

    My interests exceed those bounds. I am interested in defense of self and of my family. I am interested in acting as part of the bulwark against tyranny.

    But my reasons for exercising my natural, constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms are none of the government’s business.

    And what does this do to prevent violence? Is the state hoping that some criminal will admit their true intent (if they even bother to go through with this farce, which we already know they won’t do)?

    STEP 3: I then visited my local police station where I presented my application for a license to carry, my firearm safety certificate and a letter from my gun club stating my membership was in good standing.

    Just like all the criminals do, amirite?

    STEP 4: Along with my paperwork I had to pay a $100 application fee. NOTE: In Massachusetts a firearms license is only valid for six years, and the $100 application fee is due any time I reapply.

    Sounds like a poll tax to me.

    The criminals are likely using that $100 for some weed, or to buy a Hi-Point out of some dude’s trunk.

    STEP 5: I sat through a face-to-face interview with a police officer and submitted to a preliminary background check.

    I can only imagine such an interview. May your chains rest lightly upon you.

    Must be great to be treated as if you’re an assumed criminal, going through an ordeal no criminal would ever subject himself to.

    STEP 6: My photo and fingerprints were taken and filed digitally with the Massachusetts State Police, along with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the national criminal records database.

    Might as well tack on a fourth-amendment violation, on top of the rest, eh?

    The criminals wouldn’t be bothered by this one. The State probably already has their prints.

    STEP 7: I made an appointment at the police firing range on Moon Island in Boston Harbor to demonstrate my proficiency with a firearm in front of a state trooper.

    …because proficiency is a prerequisite to an individual’s exercise of a natural, constitutionally protected right. Shame this one doesn’t apply to voting.

    I wonder how proficient the criminals are?

    STEP 8: I waited approximately 30 days for my license to be approved.

    Meanwhile, the criminals have already knocked off a half-dozen convenience stores, and a Waffle House or two.

    Unfortunately, Carol Bowne couldn’t be reached for comment.

    STEP 9: My class A license to carry arrived in the mail.

    Well, at least you didn’t have to make another trip into the police station.

    STEP 10: I visit a nearby gun store, which by law is registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as well as the Massachusetts Firearms Records Bureau. After presenting my license to the clerk, I was then allowed to browse the store’s inventory.

    Wow, just to browse the inventory?

    The dude selling stolen firearms out of his trunk will let anyone browse his inventory.

    STEP 11: I selected my very fist firearm: a 30/30 Winchester Model 94, a tried and true staple of New England deer hunting.

    All that, for a hunting rifle? Something you won’t even carry?

    STEP 12: While in the store I submitted to yet another background check, this time over the phone with the FBI.

    Hey, what’s one more?

    If only you had UBCs; then the dude selling out of his trunk would have to run one, too.

    STEP 13: I waited three days.

    That’s a good plan, too. The dude selling out of his trunk is going to have to move his car around. The criminals buying from him might not find his car again after three whole days.

    STEP 14: I returned to the store and picked up my Winchester 30/30, effectively adding my name to the list of over 250,000 legal gun owners in Massachusetts.

    And how long is the list of illegal gun owners in Massachusetts?

    • Nice additional unpacking here Chip.

      Joining a gun club proves nothing other than the fact that you joined a gun club.

      Every time I read some condescending crap like this from a ‘hunter’ I think it was actually written by a CSGV member. Who in this case has a buddy (Fudd) gun owner in Boston to fact-check his work of fiction.

    • I like the approximately 30 days to receive his license part. Our state law says they have 40 days to approve or deny. Took me over 50 because “state police are really busy right now” and I live in a gun friendly green town. There have been several lawsuits for police chiefs taking over a year from application with no response to applicant.

  5. If this was the same procedure to exercise other “rights” such as speaking one’s mind or voting, I believe some people would be upset.

  6. I have family living in MA. What this a-hole neglects to mention is the the local chief has absolute authority to deny all carry permit applications for any reason or no reason.
    Without a carry permit one cannot even take a gun to a range.
    While there are some green light towns in MA, my former city of residence, Lowell MA, would not allow anyone who was not law enforcement, an elected official, of a bribe paying business owner to get a permit unless they were already a verified victim of an allowed violent crime. Recently the chief there is trying to update requirement by adding training substantially above what is required by state law. Those new requirements would raise the cost to apply for a permit to over $500. And then the chief has pretty much said he reserves the ‘authority’ to deny any permit for any reason or no reason.
    I’m glad I live in a may issue state (though I’d prefer our state passed constitutional carry)

  7. You need to have a gun to shoot for qualification in front of the state trooper, but you can’t get one until you go through all the steps.

    • Hmmm, no wonder only 250,000 in a state with 6,500,000 people own firearms (not counting the illegal ones ;-( ).

      Well that and the multiple steps

      …. and long wait time

      ……and excessive fees

      …… and all the bureaucratic crap.

      Wonder if Mr. Clarke will be as happy with this procedure come the day his daughter might need to protect herself from a psychotic boyfiend/exhusband?

      • These are all dry runs for the Federal junk that’s coming down the pike . That’s how they do these things , Remember Romney Care ? They get these Progressive Governors to start this kind of stuff to work out all the mazes around the states constitutions , work out the bugs and botta boom botta bing , Federal Health Care , Gay marriage Federally recognized , seat belt laws , mandatory auto insurance , federal mandated speed limits , tied to federal highway kickbacks , federal non smoking laws , federal clean air , federal clean water , on and on and on , not that some of these ideas aren’t beneficial but they are intrusive and extremely wasteful bureaucratic bung holes of ineptitude .

        • Let me offer just one Federal bung hole requirement contradiction in my profession .
          I provide eye care services and in 2009 when the battle was being fought for the ACC , my company made a well calculated decision to drop our Federal Medicare billing number after billing Medicare for the better part of twenty years . One cannot bill Medicare services without this number . We spent far too many hours in the billing of and continuing education of their constant updates and changes and additional paperwork for it to be practical choice to do so since we were non assigned providers and all payments went directly to the patients , our only reason for billing was to provide the service to our patients . Then there was the 2008 Surety Bonding requirement and changes to section 1848 of the SSA so we did not re-up on our CMS-855 enrollment for 2009 . This decision to do so should have been simple , right ? Nope , We are now required by law to explain to ‘ every ‘ patient that we do not bill Medicare and that using our company for eye care services forfeits their right for benefits from Medicare and we must have them sign an Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage form ( ABN ) or CMS-R-131 form and at the top of the form we are required to record their Medicare number , the name of the Optician that explained their waving of their benefits , our facility name , the type of service they received and the amount of the transaction and attach it to there personal file which we are then required to keep in a secure file containment room for HIPPA rule requirement which prohibits our office from requesting their SS # which in most cases is their Medicare # that we are required to record at the top of the ABN form that they require us to keep on file because we opted out of the program when they tried to force us to obtain a Surety Bond because of Medicare fraud from crooks that were using Medicare numbers nefariously when we never received a check from Medicare to begin with . Scratch your heads with me now and lets all say it together . WTF ?
          If we fail to obtain an ABN form we will be required by law to reimburse any payments for the services and the materials provided to the Medicare beneficiary . When I complained early on about this insanity to a Medicare provider consultant after we provided a $535.00 pair of eyeglasses to someone who tried to get Medicare to reimburse them for their stipulated benefit , I was told my only recourse was to get the eyewear back , I laughed of coarse and quickly set up an internal staff meeting . Get ABN forms for all patients or be fired .

    • You need to have a gun to shoot for qualification in front of the state trooper

      No, you don’t. First of all, at Moon Island you shoot in front of a Boston cop. Second, Moon Island supplies the gun, a .38Spl revolver. You cannot qualify with any other gun. You must use the BPD’s revolver. Which, by the way, is accurate.

  8. Slow motion comedy…and my compliments to the Final Triumph of Bureaucracy, after which comes the next question: Just how much of the data in this transaction is corrupted after so much refolding. Sort of like the movie Brazil. Gosh, oh golly…

  9. Good for Mr. Clarke, he sure shows that he can take it and ask for more. “Thank you sir! May I have another?!”
    Other NPR faithful watch the solemn ceremony and nod their reluctant approval.

  10. I lived in MA 31 years and moved to SC last December. I am an NRA trainer and am certified with MA State Police to train in MA still.

    This list is slightly off. There are no requirements to qualify, the 4 hour course mentioned is the NRA Home Safety course, no shooting even! You can take that certificate to the local pd and for $100 get a LTC (license-to-carry) or FID (firearms id). The FID is only good for long guns and the LTC is required for handguns. You also dont have to be a member of a range. And I am not sure about the 3 days waiting period mentioned, thats not required by MA. If you clear NICS its yours to leave with that day…

    These three items, although not MA law, may have been requested (required) by the local Chief of Police who does have full discretion to reject or approve your LTC. MA is “may issue”.

    So happy to be out of MA….

    • It’s been a few years for me, but I also don’t remember a face-to-face interview with a police officer. I think the only cop I saw was the bored guy working the fingerprint department who took my prints.

      I never belonged to a gun club, and when I went through it there was never any requirement that I demonstrate that “…I was merely interested in hunting and recreational shooting.” You do have to answer why you want the license on the application, but my NRA instructor told me to just write “Self-defense and to exercise my Second Amendment rights.” In fact, he said that was necessary to get a CCW because if you just say “Hunting/target practice” they would give me the lowest level of permit they could get away with.

      I lived in Cambridge but my permit went through just fine. I was told the CLEO was very pro-gun and pro-CCW, although that might have changed. Although I was not sent my LTC in the mail, I had to pick it up in person.

  11. As a former MA resident and Boston ad biz guy, I can appreciate why Mr. Clarke should have to jump through hoops in order to be allowed to own a firearm…Hill Holliday always had the reputation of being a bunch of drunks. In fact, one of their top creative people had an office fully equipped and stocked as a bar. MA firearms regulations was always the quintessential embodiment of the old expression, “If you’ll stand for that, you’ll stoop for THIS!”

  12. He lost me at –

    “STEP 1: I enrolled in a four-hour firearms safety course registered with the state.”

    YouTube is better, cheaper and more time efficient.

  13. “bolt-action somethingorother”
    Looks just like the Stevens .22 my dad bought when I was a kid. It’s what you might call “budget friendly.” It took care of a fair number of raccoons, opossums and groundhogs that tried to take up residence on the farm.

  14. Well, Terry McAuliffe has a gun, too. So what? He bought it right before he started running to shoot skeet with his son. (Sports shooting for the well-heeled is okay.)

    (In the most laughable irony, I think it was a Beretta, the company who wouldn’t move to Virginia because of him.)

  15. Looking for signatures for a petition. Would like to exhume the bodies of all Minute Men and Colonial Troops in Lexington, Concord, and Boston, and take them along with the statue of Paul Revere from downtown Boston, and move them all to any state North of Massachusetts so their spirits may rest in peace.
    I’m willing to start the petition on the goobermints “We The People” site, but it doesn’t show publicly till I have at least 100 signatures.

  16. STEP 13: I waited three days.

    Massachusetts has no waiting period, so I call bullsh!t on the Fudd’s whole article. You buy your gun, pass the NICS check and take your new friend home. Fudd is lying. And if he’s lying about one thing that is so basic, he’s lying about everything.

    • Maybe he felt it was morally wrong not to wait three days in case the background didn’t go right the first time and they missed the fact that he stole a participation trophy when he was younger.

    • There’s a lot of bullshit in this article. In MA you are required to take NRA approved instructor course. Go to police station and get application or fill it out there. End of story.

  17. When I got my CCW it went something like this: fill out application, fingerprints, attach DD 214, include check, and mail to AZ. Seemed about right. When I bought my first revolver in CA it went like this: “I’m looking for a .38 so my wife can shoot, too.” Salesman: no you’re not. You want a S&W 686 .357. “Yep, you are right.” Filled out paperwork, showed retired ID card, paid money, waited 10 days (10 too long), then got revolver. No interviews with PoPo.

  18. What I want to know is if these Fudd’s are so fond of selling themselves out for no gain whatsoever why don’t they just commit already?
    None of these “steps” does a damnned thing to prevent Mr. Fudd from opening fire on a playground full of kids one sunny afternoon.

    So my question Mr. Fudd: why don’t you want to keep my children safe? Why do you need to participate in the proliferation of arms?
    Wood stock or not it’s still a “death machine.” Do you have a scope on yours? How many 700 yard shots are you taking in a tight overdeveloped state like Shitachusettes? You don’t need to be able to hit my baby with your high powered thirty caliber sniper rifle from so far away you’ll have time to flee.

    A Fudd is just a violent self-righteous judgmental sniper lurking in the shadows waiting to strike at my babies. My babies!

  19. I admit that I read through the 14 point list kind of fast, but I didn’t see anywhere in the list where, or how, it stops criminals from getting guns and doing bad things with them.

    • Simple grabber math. Making it more expensive/time consuming/difficult for the Fudd to get his single shot .22 prevents cocaine dealers in Lowell from emptying a magazine in the direction of a rival dealer. See? Totally logical.

    • A defacto ban, basically.
      Making the process of obtaining a firearm legally expensive/difficult will prevent many from even bothering to go through with it in the first place.

  20. Step ten said that he showed his license to carry to the clerk and the was “allowed” to browse the selection. First off what gun store asks for your license to carry to even look at what they have, second was there some second door he had to go through before he could even see what was for sale, third if he didn’t present his license to the clerk would there be a guy who just started yelling YOU SHALL NIT PASS at him, lastly why did he get his permit to carry if he was going to buy a rifle.

    • First off what gun store asks for your license to carry to even look at what they have

      I know at least one MA gun store that won’t let you touch any firearm without first checking your license, even the long guns that are not behind the counter. Needless to say, even though I have a license, I won’t go to that store.

  21. We need to start rallying the distinction between a “gun owner” and a “gun rights supporter.” Stalin owned a gun too, that didn’t make him a paragon of individual liberty. The founding fathers must be rolling in their graves, seeing how desperately some American citizens try to rationalize their own love of enslavement.

    Here’s a solution to the Fudd problem. The NRA should start supporting bans on hunting rifles and shotguns, claiming the intent of the 2A does not protect them. We’ll see how the Fudds like their big government then.

    Here’s a solution to the leftist problem. Concede to any and all gun control measures the leftist fascists want, so long as they also apply to every other Constitutional right, such as speech, voting, search and seizure, and so on. We don’t live in a free nation anymore anyway, might as well make the left see what they’re doing in a stark light.

    • “The NRA should start supporting bans on hunting rifles and shotguns”
      Lots of people use AR-15s to hunt, and shotguns are still highly thought of for home defense. Both have been widely praised for their versatility.

      You might want to rethink that.

      • It’s tongue in cheek. The point was, people and especially the left don’t care one whit about rights until something they care about is affected. Simple solution, start going after the rights they care about.

  22. Because he feels comfortable being subjected to a bureaucratic PITA in order to be “allowed” to exercise his right, doesn’t mean I should have to do the same.

    I’m sure some people would agree to strip down fully in the TSA lines, but that doesn’t mean I should have to.

    • That’s where you and leftists differ.

      For them, anything they dislike should be outlawed for everyone. Collectivist mentality and every evil associated with it.

  23. I just came here for the top photo–looks like the .22 I bought at a garage sale for $40 and gave to #2 son. I have since tried to trade him my Model 77 semi-auto “assault .22” for it, but he won’t have any. Which is kind of a good thing. As for the damned Fudds, I guess we are going to be treated to their bios on a regular basis for awhile, seems to be something of a new angle for the grabbers which they desperately need.

  24. You guys keep calling Fudds “anti-gun gun owners”. That’s not entirely accurate. They’re not anti-gun, because they don’t want guns to all just somehow go away. They’re anti-gun rights, because they don’t accept that firearms ownership is a natural human right, protected by our constitution. Fudds have no problem with gun ownership being a state-sanctioned privilege, as long as they’re in that privileged group.

  25. Does anyone else think the verbiage in this sounds way too over-wrought and governmental to take it at face value?

    FUDD or no, this isn’t a hunter. This is a MA gov connected guy telling a story, as if to be titled, “If I Were To Buy A Gun”.

    MA LTC? Riiiight. Is he gonna EDC his nice common-sense lever gun?

    A permit to browse inventory. I imagine a black curtain being pulled back, three granddaddy goose-stick specials with spotlights shining on them. “You may choose…”.. dramatic music starts playing.

    Yeah. Don’t buy it.

    • But then you’d be implying that an anti would lie and deceive for the purpose of putting forth false propaganda. That can’t possibly be true. Antis are paragons of truth and would never sink that low. After all, their arguments stand on their own merit, they don’t need to resort to lies.

      Just yesterday I read about an armed robbery being stopped by a conceal carrier. Since the antis told me that never happens, I knew it was false and wrote a nice letter to the paper editor informing him of his obvious mistake. That reminds me, I need to write to Australia and the UK about their high violence rates and tell them they must be mistaken since Dear Leader says stuff like that only happens here.

      • Propaganda is exactly the word for it.

        I wonder who the intended audience is. Not us. Other antis who say “I support the 2A but…” I’m guessing… Self congratulatory back patting and limit setting. “See? That reasonable hunter had no problems with all of our common sense restrictions! Anyone who disagrees must be an insurgent!”

        What disturbs me also is, the deference to police as moral gatekeepers and judges of character — which they can do just by looking at a citizen.

        They’re not law enforcement to the antis… they’re magical arbiters of right and wrong, good and bad.

        “Submit, permit, allowed”.

        I bet this guy is an ex MA cop. Which explains his proud emphasis on government gatekeeping as well as his ability to sail through the MA LTC process.

        • The really stupid thing is that liberals will go on and on about how they don’t trust the police, but have no problem with those same untrustworthy cops being the arbiters of who is and isn’t responsible enough to own a gun.

    • A permit to browse inventory.

      You can look without a permit, but I know one gun store where you can’t touch without a permit. And they check it first.

      • I believe it happens in MA. I just don’t believe that it happened to this guy. The way he talks about it, you’d think he wrote the bill.

      • Every gun store I visited in MA required my LTC before I could touch a gun. My cousin came to visit me and we went to check out gun stores. He couldn’t touch anything anywhere we went.

  26. FYI, that rifle in the top picture looks a lot like the Stevens Springfield 53 that my 12 year old son and I just restored that belonged to grandmother. Single shot .22, no safety, no extractor except his fingernail, manually cocking the striker for each shot, dovetail iron sights. The action, though is as smooth as silk, it’s scary accurate, and the trigger is at most 2 lbs.

    He was putting out aimed shots at a rate of about every 3 seconds and keeping solid 2″ groups at 25 yards. It’s a fun gun to shoot.

    Don’t underestimate even such a “wimpy” firearm.

    • You have correctly identified this firearm , now you must complete the R-9437-HS52 form and register with the government Office of Firearm Identification ( OFI ) and send in a written request for a right to be valued , form IH-384 RK 2 RFV .

  27. Just another nail trying to be driven into the coffin of our nation an culture.
    Folks, these individuals are always going to be with us …. It’s the organizations they belong to that are the ultimate issue. Who’s in control of them, where’s their funding come from, how do they use that funding both in the public light but more importantly in the shadows of the back table. What they say for public consumption and what’s really said behind closed doors. Always remember the first rule ….. “Follow the money!!”
    The Second Rule may also apply here …. You can’t fix stupid!! … HOWEVER if your not carful you can trip over it!
    Keep your head on a swivel, folks! Don’t react be proactive!

  28. Meanwhile in ME and VT:

    Step 1: Go to gun store
    Step 2: Pick out gun
    Step 3: NICS check
    Step 4: Pay for gun and some ammo
    Step 5: Shoot gun in attached range
    Step 6: Take new purchase to car
    Step 7: Load gun
    Step 8: Holster gun, put in center console
    Step 9: Drive to grocery store, park and holster gun IWB
    Step 10: Shop – you can even buy beer on Sundays!
    Step 11: Go home
    Step 12: Pass by cars with MA and NY plates, be glad those plates are not on your car
    Step 13: Do all the above legally with only a driver’s license
    Step 14: Resolve to do something to at least keep it this easy

  29. Gee! I can walk into a gun shop, pick a handgun and holster, file out a form, show some ID, wait for the sales person to complete a phone call, pay up, slap the gun and holster onto my belt and walk out the door. Maybe one hour. Oh how I love Arizona, and the real America.

  30. Step 8 is the only one I’d accept for voting.
    And the ones who think it’s a crime to ask for ID at the polls probably don’t accept even that.

    • Yeah that’s something that has always rankled me. I’m a Fudd by the above definition, but I can’t abide by this. I’ve heard it poorly argued that firearms should be like cigarettes, taxed heavily to pay for the social cost. You’d be surprised (maybe not, but I was) how many people feel that way. The legal, intended use of firearms has little social cost, unlike cigarettes. If the problem was people causing immense social harm by illegally using cigarettes, the analogy would be apt. But it isn’t. Proposed gun control legislation should at the very least not put financial burden on private owners to compensate for what is essentially a law enforcement problem.

  31. Step 15: Have a face to face interview with the friendly Gestapo Officer at the door in the middle of the night.
    Step 16: Accompany friendly Gestapo Officer to awaiting empty van and then into brightly painted cattle car to the holiday re-education camp.
    Step 17: Accompany camp guards to the free showers and give the trustworthy state officials all valuables and possessions for safekeeping.
    Step 18: Step naked into the showers for a life altering experience.

  32. Let’s compare with the process for my latest gun:

    1) My wife goes to the gun store and buys me one for my birthday. Because it’s a gift, the FBI runs the background check on her , no government entity even asks who the gift is for.

    …And I achieve at least the same level of safety as this clown. Funny how that works.

  33. Calling BS on this guy. 3 day waiting period? Really? I’ve lived in MA most of my life and when it comes to firearms my biggest issues are: AG approved list of firearms, no hi cap mags post 1998 gun, all striker fired handguns must have at least 10lb pull. Getting a permit isn’t difficult with the exception of the larger cities- Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, etc….you know, where it makes more sense for law abiding citizens to have the ability to protect themselves.

    We’ve had the ability to conceal here for quite a while.

    Can’t wait till the kids are through college…we are out of here!

  34. Institutionalized, describes this guy perfectly. when you dont know anything else, things seem ok.

    15 steps, should really be only two steps.

    Step one: pick out gun
    Step two: spend money

  35. Don’t forget he had to be fingerprinted and photographed for that permit, ( as if he was arrested) he has to inform the police and the state whenever he he changes residence ( like a sex offender) if he leaves it in his own house unlocked it is a felony, if he transports it wrong it’s a felony, he is limited in how much ammo he can legally store at his house, if it got stolen they would revoke his permit. I could list all the MA bs, but I would crash the site

  36. The reasons for the law is very simple. Make it so much of a pain to get a firearm, most people will never bother. Reduce firearm ownership. Pass more laws easily as the majority of people would never go through all the hoops to get a firearm, rinse and repeat.

  37. Not even a Fudd. “Lawson Clarke is an award-winning advertising creative director. He works at Hill Holliday in Boston”.

    Genus – testosterone deficient chinless metrosexual pixie

  38. I lived in MA for two years and here is my gun buying experience.

    Step 1: Before I moved there I had to send all of my 11+ round magazines to my parents. I luckily didn’t own any evil “assault weapons!” I did own a Saiga 7.62 and a Saiga 12 which were safe for puppies, kitties and children to be around because there is no flash hider or bayonet lug.

    Step 2: I then had to scramble to take an MA approved course firearms course before the grace period ended and I would go to jail for exercising my right to keep and bear arms.

    Step 3: I went to the local police chief and because I am more equal than others in that state I was given an LTC-A without any fuss.

    Step 4: A police officer drove to my house (maybe 1000ft from the police station) and gave me my LTC in person with a smile (rare in MA).

    Step 5: I never took my guns out of my house because it’s MA and I am not a fan of jail time, because guns.

    Step 6: I would pull out my Springfield XD40 and look at that paperweight sitting there unable to be used because I refused to buy 10 round magazines.

    Step 7: Ordered a Garand from the CMP, who delivered it to my door which caused some odd looks on the face of the FEDEX guy as he dropped it off. My wife talked to him and he was curious and also a bit shocked that there was a rifle inside. She didn’t know at the time that she should have told him it was machine parts and left it at that. She is fully trained now.

    Step 8: Firearmageddon happened which made finding ammo and magazines nearly impossible. I found a few pre bans luckily and paid an assload of money to have full capacity magazines.

    Step 9: I eventually received assignment to Kansas and began dreaming of having all of my stuff back and being able to be free once again.

    Step 10: Drove nonstop from MA to Ohio to ensure I didn’t stop in the new at the time UN-SAFE Act and go to jail for exercising a right.

    Step 11: Traveled to Kanas and bought a 30 round magazine in Terre Hate Indiana.

    Step 12: Had my parents mail my stuff back to me.

    Step 13: Went on a gun, magazine and ammo buying binge and fully enjoyed having my rights restored.

  39. I live in MA too, and I have an unrestricted LTC. I only had to do an hour long course and pass a background check, then pay the fee.

    None of that other stuff at all

    And I hate to be that guy, but outside of the fee, the experience wasn’t that bad. It’s our other laws that are really ridiculous.

  40. What can I say? He likes beuracratic red tape and tons of paperwork. He’s one of those guys that goes out of his way to please and cater to the state. He wants more government, more taxes, more control – not less.

  41. I needed another lower for a project gun. So, just for fun, I had a friend read the original full article. In the time that he read it, I had completed the purchase of my “assault rifle”.

  42. There’s nothing new about the Fudd viewpoint. It’s just the same old “divide et impera” principle in action.

    My hunter neighbor once told me he was not worried about gun laws. He felt the shotguns and rifles he owned were safe from any new gun laws. I told him he assumed that hunting would not be outlawed as a “cruel, inhumane, savagery”, and any game control necessary handled by state employees.
    I will always support hunting, although I have never hunted nor do I ever intend to do so. I expect the same support for my lawful gun use from the hunting fraternity.

  43. This guy is full of s#@t. In MA not all these steps are required. The class and the application. Some municipalities do not require an interview or even references. Most of his steps are fluff.

  44. Yeah, no. How about this sequence, Mass?

    STEP 1: Find the horse you rode in.

    STEP 2: I’ll let you figure out step 2.

  45. He is just telling his rich white friends there is nothing wrong paying hundreds of dollars more for getting permission to buy a firearm. This is normal for a rich liberal hypocrite pig.

  46. Would anyone be happily willing to jump through similar hoops in order to exercise their right to vote? After all, the results of our voting decisions are arguably more dangerous than our actions with firearms.

  47. I live in Western Mass and recently got my Class A- Licence to carry. The laws and procedures for getting a FID (low cap rifles/shotgun), class B-LTC ( low cap handgun/ non-ccw) or a class A-LTC (Hi-cap handguns/ccw, shotgun up to 8rds, rifles) are byzantine at the least. Also in Mass the Assault gun ban is still in effect, no mags over 10 rds for those nasty evil black rifles (unless you buy the pre-ban ones for $45-50 each) So I grew up hunting and shooting 22s and shotguns in the early 1980s. I remember my father bringing me to the Police station when I was 14 to get my FID, it took 10 minutes and NO background check. Also it was issued “FOR LIFE”, until they mandated reissuing every 6 years. Now it’s July 2015 and there has been armed break-ins in my town and I want to get my License to carry. OK let the fun begin! I researched on what I needed to do and ohhh my! First I had to see if I even qualified because of a DUI I had in 2000. So $50 and I get a copy of my Cori and I’m good to go cause it was a CWOF not a conviction. But, because part of my probation was having to attend 10 AA meetings Massachusetts law now considers me an alcoholic which disqualifies me….. Unless I get a signed, notarized letter from my primary care Dr stating he knows of my ” condition ” and swears that I am medically capable of owning a firearm. OK now that that’s done I need to take a Firearms saftey class, and next one is in 3 weeks and it’s gonna cost me $100. In the mean time I fill out my Firearms application and write a 2 page essay on why I need this license. Because in Mass only FID are “will issue”, License to carry A &B are ” may issue” meaning if your local chief of police, who ultimately decides to issue, doesn’t like the shirt your wearing or your hairstyle can deny you for any reason he wants. Thanks assachusetts! Now I sit in front of the chief sweating while he looks over all my material, he doesn’t ask any questions, he looks pissed or kinda like he would rather not be issuing these licences, that’s the vibe I got. I gave him my $100, he fingerprints and takes my picture and tells me I may or may not, depending on my background check, receive my license in the mail in 40 days. If I receive a denied letter I would have 30 days to contest it, and he gave me a number to call if denied. I sweated for a month and finally received my Class A- Licence to carry in the mail….. Hallelujah Massachusetts!

  48. He said he waited 3 days…there is no 3 day waiting period .in MA. If all he wanted was a normal rifle, he could have gotten an FID. The are Shall issue, but last year they let the chiefs have more discretion. But still less rigorous. FID he would not have to do Live Fire at Police range. 30 days is unheard of in Boston or Brookline (where he would have to live to have live fire requirement).It takes that long to come back from the State..never mind background check. 30/30 is illegal for hunting in MA. Shotgun, Archery or Black Powder. Most, not all, clubs requiore you already have LTC or FID. There are some exceptions…lucky him for finding one. He would CERTAINLY be restricted to range purposes only ( he was almost giddy asking for it) Needless to say, the whole thing is fiction so the NPR crowd can say.”see? even gun owners agree with us and slap each other on the back. The guy is an advertising copywriter..he lies for a living. Why should he tell the truth now. These are only the highlights of the problems with this article.

    • That’s not necessarily true. My buddy, for whatever reason, has gotten red flagged 3 separate times at 3 dealers when attempting to purchase 2 handguns and 1 rifle. He is a lawyer with no criminal record. He has been told the likely reason he gets flagged is he has a common name. Makes no sense.

  49. Here’s my Massachusetts story:

    Attend a firearms safety class.
    Get 3 letters of recommendation.
    Make appointment to drop off my application, note from my instructor, live fire target, application and $100.
    Wait 3 weeks for appointment.
    Wait an hours past my appointment for licensing officer to show up.
    Sit for close to 2 hours while the offiecer nervously figited with his computer mouse because the Mass State computers are “ridiculously slow”.
    Have the officer tell me they don’t grant unrestricted class A licenses to “non LEO or non active military”.
    Have officer tell me he doesn’t agree with the policy and I should request to have my restrictions removed in writing in “6 or so months”. (He was actually a 2A guy, but handcuffed by town policy)
    Wait 51 days for my restricted LTC to be issued.
    Write a new request letter 5 months later to remove my restrictions.
    Make an appointment to pick up my new unrestricted license.

    Start to finish between safety course and unrestricted LTC – 13 months.

    Mind you I have a spotless record.

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