Redstate

I'd be happer to answer any questions and share my experience. It would probably be best if you post your questions in this thread so that everyone can read the back-and-forth, but my comment form (click my name, select Contact) works also.

Massachusetts G.O.A.L. is the first authority you should consult, but I'd be happy to share whatever else I can.

I'm not a lawyer, and even though I'll give you my best advice without the benefit of a law degree, if you still have doubts or questions I recommend consulting with one of the lawyers G.O.A.L. recommends. Their licensing page might be helpful to you, also.

It's also important if you choose to undertake the licensing process that you document your experience for any irregularities you perceive. G.O.A.L. exists to help Massachusetts gun owners and those who want to become licensed defend their rights, and as a part of that they want to know about irregularities and discrepancies, as I noted in my previous blog entry.

Law-abiding people shouldn't feel as though they're doing something wrong by applying for a firearms license or wanting to own a gun in any of the 50 states, but that isn't always the case. If you feel that something strange or unduly difficult is going on with your application process, by all means take careful notes about it.

Captain of my high-school rifle team (Union High School, Union Township, NJ, 1985-88)

Three years on the team shooting rimfire .22 caliber competition (Anschütz, etc.) rifles in 3-position competition as part of our (then) undefeated and national championship-winning team. Our shining moment (with a grey lining) was coming within (IIRC) 13 points of beating Texas A&M University's team (out of 1000), as high school students, on their range, after flying to Texas and suffering from the jetlag.

We were good, and we had a lot of fun, and it was a great experience. We were also to my knowledge the only gender-integrated varsity team at the school, and I'll always love the time I spent as a part of it.

My coach, Bob White, at one time held several national records. I "lapsed" for more almost two decades after that, but decided I wanted to get back into shooting a couple of years ago.

Sometimes I feel older than I really am, especially when I look at pictures of myself at 17 years old. Heh.

That's pretty impressive!

In the next few years, one of my personal goals is that I'd like to try and establish at least one competitive shooting team at a high school in my area. The experience I had on our team was rewarding on a number of levels, for young men and women alike, and I think it helped to build real character and a sense of responsibility and teamwork in an overall framework of excellence. I'd love to be able to coach a team here in Massachusetts at some point, that's really the fun part. In some places in America today, sadly, the equation of high-school kids with firearms in any context has become stigmatic, and I know personally that it shouldn't be.

In MA? I could see doing something like that in Colorado or Montana or similar... but the liability in MA strikes me as insurmountable.

Even something as small as "MY BABY GIRL GOT A BLISTER FROM TOUCHING HOT BRASS CASINGS!" could turn into a circus with the inevitable "what if she used the gun to shoot you? What if she used that same gun to shoot The Children?"

I'd think that the best way to get there is sideways... set up a competition between high schools that can have them and then have a state competition... then maybe interstate competitions and, eventually, more people will ask "what kind of crap high school sporting department do we have where we don't even have shooting?" than "what if one of The Children affixes a bayonet and starts stabbing everyone else in the school?"

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be. --Voltaire

High school rifle team? Where in the hell did you grow up; or should I say when did you grown up?

It's a funny story about how I found my way on to the team. I'm sitting in homeroom early in the school year one morning, and I've got my Trapper Keeper and my then-Avant-Garde Sony CD player ($600!) and I was reading Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, of all authors.

The announcement for the rifle team tryouts comes over the PA and it included the fact that the team were state champions the prior year. I'm sitting there thinking: "What kind of high school has a rifle team, and who is on it, and what is it about?"

So I went and I tried out and I found out that I loved being on the team, and I also found out that I'm pretty darn good with a competition rifle, and made a bunch of friends that I'll have forever. That was what and who, in a nutshell.

There was absolutely no pressure from anyone in my family one way or the other. In fact, before I tried out I don't think my parents *knew* our high school had a national-level team. And I was a complete ingenue: I'd literally never fired a gun. But it was intriguing, and the intersticies between relays at the range gave me time to do homework, and I made dozens of friends over the years, etc., etc.

More people should have the opportunity. In many ways, it's *precisely the opposite* of what many people think when you suggest having high-school students and guns together. There was absolutely nothing violent about it.

The strange thing is that I grew up in suburban New Jersey, in a town that Jimmy Carter designated one of America's "All American Cities" back in 1976. Indeed it was, and we all got along just fine, thanks, rifles and all.

Just because you don't have to register them doesn't mean you can just walk around town with one shoved down the back of your pants. Ownership, open carry, and concealed carry are very different things.

But different counties have different laws about that. Colorado Springs allows open carry pretty much anywhere except in public/private places that say "weapons prohibited". So I can walk down the sidewalk with one on my hip, I just can't go into any of the shops or step into the park.

Thankfully, to get a concealed carry permit, it requires a couple of Saturdays and any gun shop worth its salt offers the necessary training to get through the permit process (and if you do not own a firearm, they will allow you to borrow any of the lovely models they have available at the counter which are, may we point out, available for purchase).

The downside to living here is that you can't buy beer on Sunday.

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be. --Voltaire

But all I had to do was be a sane, twenty-one year old non-felon to get a concealed carry permit. Little bit of cash to the local Sheriff to take my fingerprints, little more to the State Police to do a background check, came in the mail in about 6 weeks. No training required (which, I admit, is a bit frightening. As for me, I've had a membership at the local range for going on 10 years now).

Although, they did ask me why I wanted it, and checked a little box indicating the purpose (self-defense in my case). I wanted to point out there was no little box labeled "It's my Constitutional right", but thought better of it. I think the other options were sport and former law enforcement (which I don't really see as a "reason", but whatever).

GOAL's website lays most of it out for you. You can download all the forms necessary from the Massachusetts authorities and in my experience you don't need them at the time of the application process, but it might be good to download them and think them over in advance.

My license was processed entirely electronically and I didn't have to fill out a single piece of paper in advance: I went to my local police department, showed my ID, told them that I wanted to apply for an LTC and the application was completed electronically.

I did have to provide proof of my residence and my identity as well as show that I had taken and successfully completed one of the Massachusetts-certified courses from a qualified instructor.

In my case there was nothing "suspicious" except for what I perceived as the delay in having my application either approved or denied. From end to end in my case that took more than three months -- however: apparently there was a hitch in the system when I applied that required a second trip to the police station to have my fingerprint rescanned.

I have heard reports of license applicants being asked to wait longer periods than the 6 to 8 weeks I was told at the beginning of the application process.

As far as the qualifications are concerned, I took the Massachusetts Pistol course from a licensed instructor at my local range and produced my certificate when I went to apply for the license. In advance of applying for my license, I also did a comprehensive criminal history background check on myself using one of the Internet services that's available to do so. That was an additional $30 (IIRC) that I spent in advance to make sure that my record was squeaky-clean. I had no reason to suspect it wasn't, but in an abundance of caution I looked myself up and made sure.

In fact I think that's good advice for anyone who applies for an LTC: take advantage of a service that will provide a reputable background check on yourself, and make sure that there's nothing you forgot about, like that ticket you forgot to pay ten years ago that resulted in a bench warrant.

I can't make it clear enough that you must follow the rules as they are written in this state in order to successfully apply for a license, particularly if it is for a Class A LTC. In my opinion, all Class A LTC applications are going to receive extra scrutiny, and in the end, the Chief of Police of your town has almost sole discretion to deny you the license.

In most cases if you are not in trouble with the law, have no outstanding warrants, have never been convicted of a felony, have never been adjudicated a delinquent minor, have never had a serious misdemeanor conviction, and are not running around making nasty statements about your local Chief of Police, you should be OK.

But my sincere advice is to check out your own background first and if you have question, consult one of G.O.A.L.'s attorneys.

Aside from that, you'll need to pay for the course you need to take, you'll need $100 for the license fee, and you'll need some time to think about all of this. Go into your application the first time with all your ducks aligned and make sure you've been proactive in raising any doubts about *yourself* beforehand and consulted with an attorney if you have any questions.

I didn't have any trouble except for the delay, which some people are telling me is endemic to the system under Governor Deval Patrick. However, I am right now a one-person sample population and until I can substantiate that all that I can say is: maybe that's true. I'd like to think Governor Patrick is not actively working to undo the legacy of Governor Romney in this regard, because Romney really intended for the electronic filing system to be more responsive and faster.

In the end I didn't have any trouble because I knew my record was clear. Also there is apparently a reluctance among certain Chiefs of Police to issue Large Capacity LTCs but I cannot substantiate those in detail personally at this time. I don't doubt it, however. The wheels of government turn slowly, and they can be made to turn even more slowly through what some elected people consider to be "benign neglect."

It's not a straightforward process in Massachusetts, in the sense of "easy." It's not intended to be, because the State doesn't want it to be. The presumption is on YOU to prove your eligibility for a license, and it can be denied for a lot of reasons. If you undertake it, make sure you dot all the Is and cross all the Ts, make records of everything, including the payments you make to get your training, etc., etc. And don't scrimp, and don't try to "game the system" in any way whatsoever. That's a recipe for certain failure in this state.

Good luck!

for sharing your experience and view with me, I'll be sure to use the advice you have given me.

Before you get to heaven, you must go through hell, which in my case is the People's Republic of Massachusetts.