38 caliber, 4-inch barrel revolver.” 27 Though nowhere described on the City of Boston website or the Boston Police LTC application materials, the Moon Island test involves much more than displaying safe firearm handling. 26 Boston LTC applicants must appear at Moon Island and demonstrate “safe handling of, and familiarity with, a. The location has operated as a training facility for firefighters since 1959 and for police since 1960. The Boston Police Department Range is located at Moon Island, 24 a Boston Harbor island “located on a peninsula off Quincy’s Squantum section” 25 about nine miles from Boston Police Headquarters. 21 Apart from submitting to an interview with a Firearms Licensing Official and successfully completing a criminal background check, an LTC applicant must “ass a shooting test at the Boston Police Department Range” 22 within two weeks of applying for licensure.

20 The Commissioner historically possessed broad discretion, prior to the recent amendment to chapter 140, section 131(d) of the Massachusetts General Laws, when reviewing LTC applications. The Boston Police Commissioner serves as the licensing authority charged with issuing LTCs to Boston residents. 17 After the Bruen decision, Governor Baker signed into law Massachusetts House Bill 5163, 18 which amended chapter 140, section 131(d) of the Massachusetts General Laws and made Massachusetts, at least facially, a shall-issue jurisdiction.

16 In this sense, Massachusetts was long a “may-issue” state for handgun licensure because it required showing “good reason” for an LTC. 15 Yet, unlike how it treats FIDs, which a local licensing authority “shall issue” but for the “prohibited person” exception, the statute, until most recently, afforded local licensing authorities broad discretion in approving LTC applications. 14 As with an FID, the statute bans “prohibited person” from obtaining an LTC. 13 Either the colonel of state police or a licensing authority can issue an LTC. 11 The licensing authority “shall issue ,” unless “it appears that the applicant is a prohibited person.” 12Ĭonversely, a License to Carry Firearms (LTC) entitles its holder “to purchase, rent, lease, borrow, possess and carry” handguns, rifles, and shotguns. In Massachusetts, 8 any person seeking to possess a non–large capacity 9 rifle or shotgun must apply for a “firearm identification card” 10 (FID) with a local licensing authority. Statutory Requirements and Delegation to Local Licensing Authorities This Part explores the statutory scheme for carrying handguns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and discusses how the City of Boston has chosen to augment state requirements for an LTC by implementing the Qualification Test. Part III applies that framework to the Qualification Test, concluding that mandatory scored live-fire exercises violate the Second Amendment, and briefly discusses legal remedies. Part II outlines the constitutional framework for Second Amendment cases, chronicling the evolution from a “reasonable regulation” stan-dard 7 to the post- Bruen state of play. Part I analyzes the statutory scheme for carrying firearms in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and describes the Qualification Test. Bruen, 6 municipalities that wish to preserve sensible firearm regulation should understand the constitutional limits of licensure requirements - promoting public safety and upholding Second Amendment rights need not be mutually exclusive. 5 In the wake of New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. 4Ĭonditioning a handgun carry license on a scored live-fire exercise violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. 38 caliber, 4-inch barrel revolver” and (2) complete a scored live-fire test. 1 The application process includes numerous steps, such as completing a license application, consenting to an interview with a Firearms Licensing Official, successfully completing a criminal background check, and furnishing a “Firearm Safety Certificate or Hunting Safety Course Certificate issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” 2 But the City’s LTC guidelines also state that applicants must pass a shooting qualification test (Qualification Test) “at the Boston Police Department Firearms Range at Moon Island within two weeks of the date of the application.” 3 To pass the Qualification Test, applicants must (1) “show the safe handling of, and familiarity with, a. City of Boston residents who wish to carry a handgun for self-defense must apply for a License to Carry Firearms (LTC) with the Boston Police Department.

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