How a Criminal Convictions May Impact Your Massachusetts Gun Rights
If you’re convicted of a crime in Massachusetts, it could prevent you from owning or possessing a firearm. Massachusetts has some of the strictest restrictions on gun ownership in the nation, and a criminal offense on your record may disqualify you from having having a gun.
In Massachusetts, the law requires people owning and possessing guns to obtain permits to do so. The law prevents many people convicted of certain crimes from possessing a firearm. The law prevents the following people from owning a gun:
– Persons convicted of a felony.
– Persons convicted of misdemeanors punishable by more than two years’ imprisonment.
– Persons convicted of firearms laws that are punishable by state prison time.
– Narcotics offenders.
– Persons convicted of violent crimes.
Gun licenses are approved through local police departments. When you apply for a license, the local police department will collect your information and process a background check. Your local police chief may decline to issue a permit to you if you are found to be “unsuitable.” This may include people with mental health, alcohol or substance issues, or other risk factors determined by the local chief.
If you’re ineligible to own a firearm because of a misdemeanor conviction, you can ask the Massachusetts Firearm License Review Board to look over your case. The board can decide to grant you a firearm license. You may also appeal a local police chief’s decision to deny your permit to a district court judge.
Attorneys experienced in Massachusetts gun laws can help residents who may be currently ineligible to own or carry a gun have their rights restored. Attorneys can explore whether the conviction barring you from having a gun occurred before the gun laws went into effect, can attack the previous conviction in a plea colloquy and can help make your case before the FLRB.If you’re currently facing criminal charges, an attorney can help have those charges reduced so you may possess a weapon.
Experienced Massachusetts Lawyer
Massachusetts residents seeking to appeal a denial of a firearms license would do well to work with an attorney. Massachusetts Criminal Attorney Attorney Patrick Donovan knows Massachusetts gun laws and can help clients successfully appeal adverse firearms licensing rulings and help them protect their Second Amendment rights. If you or someone you know has been denied a gun license call today for a free consultation.
