I hear this question all the time. And I’ve got a unique perspective on it.
I started my legal career in Alabama. Down there, you didn’t need a license to carry a gun openly. I still managed to handle a rare firearms appeal—that’s how unusual gun cases were in that state.
Then I moved to Massachusetts. It was like landing on a different planet with what many people consider the worst gun law environments in the country.
I’m not going to claim Massachusetts is definitely the number one worst. I don’t practice in New York, New Jersey, or California, so I can’t make that comparison with certainty. But I can tell you this: Massachusetts is always in that top tier of strictest states. And if you live here, you should treat our laws like they’re the toughest in the country.
Because I’ve seen what happens when people don’t. The consequences can change your life.
You Need a License Just to Own a Gun
Here’s something that surprises a lot of people. In most states, you can keep a gun in your home without any license. You might need a background check to buy it. You might need a permit to carry it in public. But just having it at home? No license needed in most places.
Massachusetts doesn’t work that way.
Here, the license isn’t just about carrying. It’s about owning. It’s about having a gun at all. If you keep a firearm in your home without a License to Carry or an FID card, you’re breaking the law. You don’t have to threaten anyone. You don’t have to do anything else wrong. Just having it is enough.
This is the fundamental difference between Massachusetts and most other states. The license is everything here.
The Licensing Process Takes Time
To get licensed in Massachusetts, you take a state-approved safety course, fill out an application at your local police department, get fingerprinted, undergo a background check, and usually have an interview. Your local police department decides whether to approve you.
After the Bruen decision, Massachusetts is supposed to be a “shall issue” state—meaning if you qualify, they have to give you the license. But even with that change, the process takes time. How much time depends on your town. Could be weeks. Could be months.
That creates a dangerous temptation. People wait and wait, then think, “I’ll just hold onto this gun while my application goes through.” Don’t do that. In Massachusetts, “pending” doesn’t protect you. If you don’t have the license in your hand, you’re breaking the law.
The Penalties Are Brutal
If you have a gun outside your home without a license, you’re looking at a felony with an 18-month mandatory minimum sentence.
Mandatory minimum means the judge has no choice. Even if you have a clean record. Even if you’re a good person who made an honest mistake. Even if you have a family counting on you. The judge cannot give you probation. The judge cannot let you go home. The judge has to send you to jail for at least 18 months, day for day. And if the gun is loaded, that adds more time.
I’ve lived this with my clients. I’ve seen families terrified about what’s coming. But the good news is these cases can be won. We’ve beaten mandatory minimums by filing motions to suppress evidence when police conducted illegal searches. We’ve convinced juries that the Commonwealth didn’t prove its case. We’ve taken cases other attorneys said were hopeless and walked clients out of court free.
These wins don’t happen by accident. They happen because you fight smart.
Criminal Records Make Everything Worse
If you have a criminal record, Massachusetts gun law gets ugly fast. Certain convictions—felonies, drug charges, many misdemeanors, restraining orders, domestic violence findings—can disqualify you from getting a license entirely.
But the really scary part is the sentencing. Massachusetts has an “armed career criminal” law. If you have certain prior convictions and get caught with a gun, you’re not looking at 18 months. You’re looking at years, sometimes more than a decade.
This matters even if you think, “That’s for criminals, not for me.” Criminal records are messy. Some people have old cases they forgot about, cases from other states, or outcomes they don’t fully understand. Massachusetts doesn’t care what you think your record means. Massachusetts cares what the law says.
If you have any criminal history and you’re dealing with guns, get legal advice before you do anything. The line between “you’re fine” and “you’re going to prison” can come down to one detail in your record.
The Traps Nobody Thinks About
Massachusetts has rules that catch people off guard. How you transport your gun matters—loaded versus unloaded, locked versus unlocked, where it sits in your car. If you moved here from somewhere else and assume your old habits are fine, you’re wrong.
Massachusetts also limits magazine capacity, requires proper documentation for sales, and has strict storage requirements. Violations of any of the unlawful possession can become their own criminal charges. You can think you’re doing everything right and still get charged because you didn’t know some technical rule. The room for mistakes is tiny.
What You Should Do
If you take one thing from this, let it be this: treat Massachusetts like it has the strictest gun laws in the country.
Don’t possess a gun without a license—not temporarily, not just holding it for a friend, not even if it’s unloaded and locked. If you’re moving here with firearms, get advice on how to do it legally. You get 60 days to figure it out, but the clock starts the second you arrive.
If you have any criminal history, get your record reviewed before you do anything with guns. Learn the Massachusetts rules for storage and transportation. And if you get charged, take it seriously immediately—gun cases move fast, and mandatory minimums close off your options early.
Massachusetts is not a state where you want to learn the rules by getting arrested. If you have questions about your situation, talk to a Massachusetts firearms lawyer who knows how to fight these cases. Contact the Law Office of Matthew W. Peterson at 617-295-7500 to schedule a strategy session today.
