# Mass Firearms Laws



## KPD54 (Oct 30, 2020)

Personal info yeeted.


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## Goose (Dec 1, 2004)

Does your department provide a duty firearm and a locker for you? Simple solution is to leave it there and only carry it when you are working. You can't get a LTC in Mass until you are 21 and LEOSA, carrying off duty, and large capacity mags just muddies the waters as a reserve in MA. And you aren't going to be able to buy a handgun at 19 regardless in MA. I imagine your department has a game plan for this, otherwise they wouldn't have offered you a position when you are under 21.

No cop in their right mind is looking to jam another cop up but I can't say the same about the DAs, cops that aren't in their right mind, etc.

Otherwise move to NH. Live free or die, just don't tint your front windows. A FFL isn't going to be able to sell you a handgun if you are under 21 regardless of your state of residency.


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## patrol22 (Oct 31, 2015)

https://www.fop.net/legislative/issues/hr218/hr218faq.pdf

Read over this, you can likely carry your duty pistol but as far legally buying one in MA I think you'd be out of luck.


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## mpd61 (Aug 7, 2002)

I am an MSP-Certified LEOSA Instructor, LEOSA won't even come into play until you're sworn in by the "governmental agency" that employs you. Then they have to issue you some sort of credentials stating you have arrest authority, and a firearm. At that point, I would discuss leaving said weapon at the station with your boss. LEOSA is a Federal Statute, that trumps state laws, however, I wouldn't recommend traveling through NH and back home to Mass with it until you are 21 with an LTC. Sorry but best to be conservative this early in your career. The next couple of years will go fast enough for you to be on firmer ground, and not be some unfortunate test case for an under-21, out of state, seasonal beach cop.


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## Hush (Feb 1, 2009)

Can't rent a car until 25, but can be a cop at 19...somethings wrong with that picture.


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## Quo Vadis (Mar 18, 2020)

If you stay a resident of MA, I think your only option is to carry an issued pistol. MA won’t let you make a private purchase of a pistol, and no FFL can legally sell to you at your age, regardless of the state. 

If you moved out of MA (say, to NH or ME), you might be able to legally purchase a handgun from a private party. 

As for carrying off duty in MA, the LEOSA permits this explicitly if you are a qualified LEO, and there is no requirement to have an LTC or other blessing from MA. Federal courts have not looked kindly upon agencies that violate this and arrest qualified LEOs for carrying. 

However, the LEOSA in its current form does not address magazine capacity (this was also mentioned above), so if you carried standard capacity magazines in MA you might not be on very solid ground. You could swap out the standard mags for 10-rounders to avoid this issue. 

I also was a cop before I was 21, and what I did when traveling to a “ban state” off duty was carry a handgun with a < 10 round capacity (usually a S&W J frame). Make sure always to carry department-issued credentials when carrying off duty: the LEOSA won’t apply if you don’t.


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## felony (Oct 24, 2014)

Leave it in your locker at work. If you don't, I am sure they have some sort of armory you can turn in at.


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