H3991 - July 18, 2008 Update

The Governor's Lawful Citizens Imprisonment Act H3991 "An Act to Reduce Gun Violence" has been given yet another extension order. This extension request by the Judiciary Committee was granted until July 31, 2008, the last day of legislative session. Thanks to the efforts of our members, this bill continues to be delayed.

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H3991 - July 2, 2008 Update

Once again the Joint Committee on the Judiciary has filed an extension on a list of bills including the  Governor's Lawful Citizens Imprisonment Act H3991 "An Act to Reduce Gun Violence". The order will give the Committee until July 21, 2008 to act on the legislation. These delays should be a good sign to our members that your calls and emails are having the desired effect.

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H3991 - June 12, 2008 Update

It was announced today that the Joint Committee on the Judiciary has once again filed an extension order on the list of bills that it has not yet dealt with. Although no list was provided, it is assumed that the Governor's "Lawful Citizen Imprisonment Act" was included in this list. The extension order will now give the Committee until June 30, 2008 to decide what will become of this bill.

GOAL urges all of our members not to let the Committee slide this bill through. Keep the emails and phone calls going to the State House.

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Governor Reported to be Pushing Hard on H3991

The following paragraph is from a June 11, 2008 State House News release. It clearly states that the Governor is still pushing the legislature to support the "Lawful Citizens Imprisonment Act". GOAL is urging of all its members to contact the Committee members listed below and voice their displeasure with bills that punish lawful citizens taking part in lawful commerce!

BURKE SAYS GUV’S CRIME PACKAGE SUBJECT OF ACTIVE DISCUSSION
The governor is actively discussing anti-crime legislation with lawmakers, his top public safety aide told the News Service on Tuesday. “I think there’s been movement recently, real discussion,” Secretary of Public Safety Kevin Burke said. “The governor’s pushing hard. Both branches are listening.” Patrick filed legislation in April 2007 to reduce gun violence (H 3991) and to govern post-release supervision of convicts (H 500), and both have been awaiting action in the Judiciary Committee since April 2007. A third bill, revising employer access to criminal records (H 4476), has been in the same committee since this past January. Late last month, the Legislature extended the deadline to report on those bills until June 12. Burke said the governor “views that as a good thing” because it means the Legislature is giving his bills a chance. In December, Burke attended a Judiciary Committee hearing and delivered a stern message from the governor, slamming committee leaders for taking up a death penalty bill and delaying action on his crime package. Burke’s remarks drew a sharp response from the committee’s chairmen, Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty and Sen. Robert Creedon.

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Action Urged on Governor's Lawful Citizen Imprisonment Act

Gun Owners' Action League is urging its members to contact the members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and ask them to send H3991 "An Act to Reduce Gun Violence" to a study. The Governor's bill H3991, otherwise known as the "Lawful Citizens Imprisonment Act", would punish those who lawfully purchase more than one  rifle, shotgun, firearm, machine gun, large capacity weapon or large capacity feeding device in any 30-day period shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not more than 2 ½ years, or both, for a first offense; and for any subsequent offense shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $5,000, or by imprisonment for not more than 2 ½ years in a house of correction or not more than 5 years in the state prison, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The same punishment exists in the bill for the licensed dealer who lawfully sells the products.

"There doesn't appear to be any attempt in this bill to address illegal sales of firearms other than to make a normally lawful transaction an illegal act," said Jim Wallace Executive Director of Gun Owners' Action League. "The only people this bill punishes is lawfully licensed citizens. Imagine an elected official filling legislation that would imprison a lawfully licensed citizen for purchasing a lawful product from a lawfully licensed retailer where both the retailer and the citizen go to prison for doing nothing wrong and harming no one! Well that is precisely what this bill does."

H3991 is one of the few bills that has not been acted upon by the committee and is being held under an extension order until June 12, 2008. GOAL is urging all of our members to contact the members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and ask them to put this bill into a study and to perhaps release a bill in the future that punishes the acts of criminals rather than legislation that persecutes lawful citizens for taking part in lawful commerce.

Members appointed to the committee:

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Dear Committee Member,

Gun Owners’ Action League would like to remind you that we strongly oppose Governor Patrick’s proposed legislation H3991, “An Act to Reduce Gun Violence”, commonly referred to as the “One Gun a Month Bill”.  This bill has become known to our members as the “Lawful Citizen Imprisonment Act”.

The premise of the bill is that the lawful gun owners of Massachusetts are responsible for the illegal gun trade in the Commonwealth. H3991 makes it a crime for a licensed gun owner to purchase more than one firearm (handgun), rifle, shotgun, large capacity weapon, large capacity feeding device or machine gun from a licensed firearm dealer in a 30 day period. The punishment for the first offense is a fine of not more than $1,000 and/or a sentence of not more than 2 ½ years in a house of correction. It should be clear that there is nothing in this legislation that addresses the acts of criminals dealing in illegal firearms. 

The process for obtaining a License to Carry Firearms and the purchasing of firearms are both quite extensive, as shown in the attached document.  However, even after the background checks and training, a law abiding citizen may be thrown in jail for buying more than one gun in a month’s time. How would that deter crime? The criminals committing gun related crimes do not go through the proper channels to get licensed and purchase guns legally-so changing the law will not affect them or gun related crime.  The law abiding citizens of the Commonwealth should not be punished for the actions of criminals. 

We urge you to send this bill to study and to perhaps release a bill in the future that punishes the acts of criminals rather than legislation that persecutes lawful citizens for taking part in lawful commerce.

Sincerely,

James L. Wallace

Executive Director

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The following are the steps a lawful citizen of the Commonwealth must go through in order to purchase a firearm (“Firearm” being a handgun under Massachusetts law):

·         Training Course: There are currently 17 State Police basic firearms safety courses that are approved for a License to Carry, none of which are funded or offered by the state even though they are mandated. It can take several weeks, if not months, to find an available course. Most courses cost between $50 - $200, depending on the course and the instructor.

·         Fill out a 4 page application which includes your personal information, 14 questions regarding your status as a citizen, any criminal history and requires the names and addresses of  two personal references.

o   Chapter 140 § 131(g): The application for such license shall be made in a standard form provided by the executive director of the criminal history systems board…

o   Although it is against state law many cities and towns have their own application process requiring other materials such as letters from physicians and local business owners.

·         Pay a non-refundable application fee of $100

·         Make an appointment for an interview and application processing with your local licensing officer. During the interview the local officer will determine your “suitability” according to local definition. This suitability will often change if you move to another town, even though nothing about you has.

·         Have your fingerprints taken which are sent to the State Police and screened through the FBI through the State’s Firearms Fingerprint Identity Verification program.

·         The licensing officer then sends your application to the Criminal History Systems Board. This agency will do a background check to determine that the applicant meets the statutory elements involving automatic disqualifications: IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT SEALED RECORDS ARE OPEN FOR REVIEW FOR AN LTC APPLICATION PROCESS.

Automatic disqualifiers are:

 (i) has, in any state or federal jurisdiction, been convicted or adjudicated a youthful offender or delinquent child for the commission of

(a) a felony;

(b) a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for more than two years;

(c) a violent crime as defined in section 121; “Violent crime”, shall mean any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, or any act of juvenile delinquency involving the use or possession of a deadly weapon that would be punishable by imprisonment for such term if committed by an adult, that: (i) has as an element the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force or a deadly weapon against the person of another; (ii) is burglary, extortion, arson or kidnapping; (iii) involves the use of explosives; or (iv) otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious risk of physical injury to another.

(d) a violation of any law regulating the use, possession, ownership, transfer, purchase, sale, lease, rental, receipt or transportation of weapons or ammunition for which a term of imprisonment may be imposed; or

(e) a violation of any law regulating the use, possession or sale of controlled substances as defined in section 1 of chapter 94C;

(ii) has been confined to any hospital or institution for mental illness, unless the applicant submits with his application an affidavit of a registered physician attesting that such physician is familiar with the applicant’s mental illness and that in such physician’s opinion the applicant is not disabled by such an illness in a manner that should prevent such applicant from possessing a firearm;

(iii) is or has been under treatment for or confinement for drug addiction or habitual drunkenness, unless such applicant is deemed to be cured of such condition by a licensed physician, and such applicant may make application for such license after the expiration of five years from the date of such confinement or treatment and upon presentment of an affidavit issued by such physician stating that such physician knows the applicant’s history of treatment and that in such physician’s opinion the applicant is deemed cured;

(iv) is at the time of the application less than 21 years of age;

(v) is an alien;

(vi) is currently subject to: (A) an order for suspension or surrender issued pursuant to section 3B or 3C of chapter 209A or a similar order issued by another jurisdiction; or (B) a permanent or temporary protection order issued pursuant to chapter 209A or a similar order issued by another jurisdiction; or

(vii) is currently the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant in any state or federal jurisdiction.  

·         The application review process can take several weeks or months. While the law states this must be done within 40 days, it often takes several months. At one point two years ago some applications were taking nearly a year.

·         If the statutorily required background and fingerprint checks are cleared, the CHSB will notify the local licensing officer that the process may continue.

·         At this point the local licensing officer may approve the application, deny it for no reason, place a restriction on your license or downgrade it.

·         If the applicant disagrees with a denial, they have the option of filing an appeal in court. This process will usually cost $5,000 - $10,000 in legal fees. Keeping in mind that under the “Moyer” decision, it is up to the applicant to prove that they are a “suitable” person even though there is no definition of what that means.

·         If the license is issued then the citizen may proceed to the purchasing process.

Purchasing from a licensed dealer:

1.      The license holder must choose a firearm that is approved under the requirements of the Attorney General’s Regulations in 940 CMR 16.00, Massachusetts General law Chapter 140 § 123, The Approved Firearms Roster and the Large Capacity Weapons Roster. These regulations and laws restrict the makes and models of handguns that can legally be sold in Massachusetts.

2. The Massachusetts dealer must be licensed under federal law (18 U.S. Code 923) and state law (Chapter 140, Section 123). All information about firearms in the possession of the licensed dealer must be recorded in their dealers Bound Book (Bound Book - 27 CFR 178.125).

3. Under law, the licensed Massachusetts buyer must then appear in person to the Massachusetts Dealer’s place of business and present their valid License to Carry a firearm and other identification.

4. The buyer must then complete and sign a federal form ATF 4473 answering 17 different questions regarding their status as a federally qualified individual.

5. The dealer must also fill out a state form FA-10 which contains the information of the dealer, the buyer and a description of the firearm. The form must then be signed by the purchaser.

6. If more than one handgun is being purchased within a five day period the dealer is required to fill out BATFE Form 3310 and submit a copy to the BATFE and the state agency in charge of licensing before the close of business.

7. If all of the previous steps are completed, the dealer must then conduct a federally mandated background check on the proposed buyer through the National Instant Checks System. If the purchaser is not immediately approved by this system, the transaction must be stopped. The NICS system can lawfully take up to three days to authorize the purchase.

8. If the dealer is equipped through the new Massachusetts Instant Records Checks System (MIRCS), the buyer must submit to a digital scan and recognition of their fingerprints, licensees are given a PIN number in case the fingerprints are not readable.

9. If all the checks have passed, the dealer must instruct the buyer on the safe use and operation of the firearm and provide a tamper resistant mechanical locking device that has been approved by the Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police.

10. If all of the above steps are met, the citizen can then pay for the firearm and take it with them.