If I wish to carry my gun whilst tarrying in Massachusetts, the first thing I need is an Massachusetts License to Carry (LTC). To wrangle one of those from Bay State bureaucrats, I must take a Massachusetts firearms safety class. Afterwards, I have to submit an application to the PTB with a copy of my home state’s carry permit, all the usual bona fides, a $100 fee (no personal checks) and a compelling reason why I need to carry a concealed firearm in Massachusetts (no personal safety stuff). If they like the cut of my jib, I have to travel to Adams Massachusetts for a personal interview. Even if I get an LTC . . .
I still can’t carry the magazine on the left in my Springfield XD(m) .45. It’s not a pre-ban, “high-capacity” mag. I would argue that it’s a standard capacity magazine, but who’s listening?
Not Massachusetts, which classifies a legal “high capacity” magazine as any magazine that holds more than 10 cartridges that was hanging out in Massachusetts on or before September 13, 1994. Any magazine manufactured after that date that holds more than 10 rounds is illegal.
Again, the 13-round magazine on the left is verboten. The 10-round magazine on the right is good to stow.
At the risk of pointing out the blindingly obvious, the only difference between the two magazines is . . . three bullets. Three bullets separate a law-abiding citizen carrying a gun for self-defense and a psycho killer looking to take out as many innocent people as possible without wasting the two seconds swapping magazines would require.
I guess.
Anyway, as I cross the border from RI to MA—something we Rhode Islanders do on a regular basis—I have to swap out magazines. Wait! No. I have to make the switch before I leave the house and cross the border. I have to leave home without them. I can’t carry high capacity magazines in Mass. even if they’re locked away in an approved container.
And if I get caught with those three extra bullets in that stainless steel magazine? I’m in trouble, and ehow:
A person who carries a weapon over a public way, like a street, with ammunition in the chamber or in a magazine is subject to fines and imprisonment under Chapter 269.12(D)(a) of the Massachusetts Statutes. Possessing a small capacity weapon with ammunition carries a fine from $500 to $5,000 and a possible sentence of two years in a local prison, while a large capacity weapon with ammunition has a fine range of $1,000 to $10,000 and a maximum jail sentence of 10 years.
Does any of this make sense?