Moving back to Mass

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Lived in Mass for 25 years. In 2003 I applied for a Class A LTC but was denied by hometown Chief because in 1996 my wife panicked and pulled a restraining order on me while I was at work. The Order expired within 24 hours because she realized how dumb it was. I have no other record.
Since then we moved to NH and I have lived happily with CCW for two years but now must move back to the same Mass town for my business.

What should I do?
I obviously want to continue to Carry. Just try again?
What do I do with all of my firearms in the meantime?

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I have a similar question. I live in Ct. and I might be moving to Ma. in the next year, both for work and my girl friend. I am going to apply for a non-resident permit for visiting.

When I move there, how hard is it to turn the non-resident to a resident? Or Do I need to apply all over again?



Ange

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Ange, I'm in the same boat. Moving to MA from CT and need to get my permit soon. I plan on doing it in the next week. I'll let you know if I learn anything helpful.

Loren M.

Molon Labe!

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The more I read about Mass. the less I want to move there. It all really depends on where I find work. My primary reason to move to Mass, is to be closer to my long suffering girlfriend. After having a long distance relationship for nearly 14 years, she really wants me to move closer. That would go over well, "well honey, I'd like to move closer, but I don't want to deal with Mass. gun laws."

My best bet would be to ether get a job in NH, and live near the MA. border, it'd be about a 40 minute drive to her house and that would work. Or move to NH and find a MA job close enough to commute.

arrrrrrrg,

Ange

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The thing with MA is this... it all depends on the town that you live in because the local chief has final discretion on whether to issue you a permit or not. I have lived in MA all of my life and I have chosen the town/city to live in based on the chief's stance on issuing permits, etc.

I have an unrestricted class A carry permit and a machine gun license. So for all of the faults of MA, I can own pretty much anything that I want(except for a surpressor) from semi to full auto.

You just need to know how to navigate the mine fields

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Ange wrote:

The more I read about Mass. the less I want to move there. It all really depends on where I find work. My primary reason to move to Mass, is to be closer to my long suffering girlfriend. After having a long distance relationship for nearly 14 years, she really wants me to move closer. That would go over well, "well honey, I'd like to move closer, but I don't want to deal with Mass. gun laws."

My best bet would be to ether get a job in NH, and live near the MA. border, it'd be about a 40 minute drive to her house and that would work. Or move to NH and find a MA job close enough to commute.

arrrrrrrg,

Ange

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Choose NH over MA -- we left the Bay State due to the taxes and regulations. I've lived in NH, MA andCT as well; there (CT) thefirearm laws are actually fairly decent. I had the misfortune of living in a MA town where the chief would not issue CCW's, obtained a class A permit, that only allowed for hunting and target practice.

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Well it still depends on where I find work and how close I am to my girlfriend. I have trouble driving distances and if I'm going to move, wellafter 13 years of a long distance relationship, she really wants me closer.

From what I read, besides taxes, it really shouldn't affect my gun ownership, as long as I move into a shall issue town and Stoneham seems to be one. I my field, MA pay is a lot better than NH and has more work opportunities and transit capabilities.

Ange

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Ange wrote:

as long as I move into a shall issue town and Stoneham seems to be one.

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If you haven't done so already, I would recommend that you talk to the chief prior to moving to any town in MA just to make sure on his licensing policies. It sounds like you are assuming that Stoneham is good as opposed to being sure. When I moved within MA, I emailed all of the chiefs for the towns that I was interested in and all but one (Harvard) got back to me. You could also schedule an appointment with the chief and talk to him face to face.

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Gobu wrote:

Lived in Mass for 25 years. In 2003 I applied for a Class A LTC but was denied by hometown Chief because in 1996 my wife panicked and pulled a restraining order on me while I was at work. The Order expired within 24 hours because she realized how dumb it was. I have no other record.
Since then we moved to NH and I have lived happily with CCW for two years but now must move back to the same Mass town for my business.

What should I do?
I obviously want to continue to Carry. Just try again?
What do I do with all of my firearms in the meantime?

Click to expand...

I would consult with an MA attorney who specializes in firearms laws. I don't think having a restraining order is a revokable offense, per se, but the chief does have discretion. I think it is an automatic revoke if you were found to have violated a restraining order but your post doesn't indicate that to be the case.

Remember one thing... MA changed the law so they go back to the day you were born when you apply for a license. So you need to answer every question honestly and truly for your entire life. Many people have been denied because they answered a question falsely because they thought juvenile records didn't count, or their record was cleaned, etc. Most chiefs will bounce you right away because you "lied" and are not considered to be responsible. For example, I appeared in court for Operating Recklously when I was 18which is a criminal motor vehicle citation. So I always answer the question "Have you ever appeared in court as the defendant in a criminal case?" as "Yes" and then I explain. It has never been an issue and the licensing agents have never even batted an eye... but if I answer "No", I am screwed.

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rhoonah wrote:

Ange wrote:

as long as I move into a shall issue town and Stoneham seems to be one.

Click to expand...

If you haven't done so already, I would recommend that you talk to the chief prior to moving to any town in MA just to make sure on his licensing policies. It sounds like you are assuming that Stoneham is good as opposed to being sure.

Click to expand...

Well I was looking on another site on MA gun laws and there was a list of towns that were shall issue ones. Stoneham was on on the list and reading some of the experiences of others in the town, it seems pretty good.

I also checked with some friends up there who agree, but your right, in the long run it's up to the chief and his policies.

Ange

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Ange wrote:

rhoonah wrote:

Ange wrote:

as long as I move into a shall issue town and Stoneham seems to be one.

Click to expand...

If you haven't done so already, I would recommend that you talk to the chief prior to moving to any town in MA just to make sure on his licensing policies. It sounds like you are assuming that Stoneham is good as opposed to being sure.

Click to expand...

Well I was looking on another site on MA gun laws and there was a list of towns that were shall issue ones. Stoneham was on on the list and reading some of the experiences of others in the town, it seems pretty good.

I also checked with some friends up there who agree, but your right, in the long run it's up to the chief and his policies.

Ange

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Chiefs get replaced as well... good advice to meet face to face. Good luck!

From what I've read on numerous message boards, the counties/towns in Mass seem to vary as far as issuance-some freely issue, some rarely/never issue. However, I haven't seen anyone get turned down for a non-resident permit. So certainly living in NH and working in Mass might not be a bad idea(lower taxes), and your chances for a permit would be better. The one year permit/renewal thing sucks though...........

press1280 said:

... However, I haven't seen anyone get turned down for a non-resident permit. So certainly living in NH and working in Mass might not be a bad idea(lower taxes), and your chances for a permit would be better. The one year permit/renewal thing sucks though...........

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Well it depends on the drive. The two important things to me living closer to my girl friend. After putting up with 15 years of a 3 hour commute to see each other, it would be nice just to be able to hang. Plus, she has health issues and needs me closer. Another thing is a job. There are limited openings (pretty much all jobs these days are limited openings) in NH and MA has a college on every street corner.
It really all depends on where I get a job.