The licensing regime in the Commonwealth is bad enough for residents, but when it comes to other U.S. citizens, it is simply discriminatory. The disparity in how non-residents firearm owners are treated is an intentional roadblock to exercise The Second Amendment rights.

“Thanks to the Massachusetts permitting regime, non-residents who travel to – or even through – the state for business or vacation must follow the extremely long permit process or risk arrest and prosecution,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “The Second and Fourteenth Amendments clearly protect the right of ‘ordinary, law-abiding citizens’ to carry handguns for self-defense, and the state is violating the constitutional rights of non-residents with such a burdensome process to receive and renew a license to carry.” 

“We greatly appreciate SAF taking the lead on the non-resident issue,” said Jim Wallace Executive Director of GOAL. ”We knew heading into this that the 2A community in Massachusetts was going to need all the help we could get. This partnership will allow us to primarily focus our resources on matters directly residents here in the Commonwealth.”

So far, Comm 2A, the National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, the Firearms Policy Coalition, and Gun Owners of America have partnered with GOAL in litigation efforts.