Massachusetts has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. In fact, residents of the Commonwealth are forbidden from owning semi-automatic assault weapons, and they face stiff penalties for improper transportation or storage of weapons. The state also has some of the most stringent gun licensing requirements throughout the nation.
If you are convicted of most firearm-related charges here in Massachusetts, it's likely that you will have to pay a stiff fine and possibly even serve time in prison. Although many of these laws have good intentions, they may also be unduly burdensome for gun owners. For example, just consider Massachusetts' firearms storage law. This law places the responsibility squarely on a gun owner to always keep his or her weapons inaccessible and unavailable to others. Weapons are required to be stored in safes or with locks that render them inoperable to everyone except the owner or other lawfully authorized users. If you are caught and convicted of this violation involving a large capacity weapon, you could be looking at a fine between $1000-$10,000, and prison time ranging between one and 10 years.
Despite these serious penalties, you should remember that your arrest for weapons charges does not negate your constitutionally protected rights. In addition to your right to bear arms, you also have a right to hire an attorney who has experience in defending clients against gun charges.
Your defense attorney can provide you with several legal challenges regarding your arrest. For example, your attorney may argue a motion to suppress evidence being used against you. Perhaps the police in your case did not have sufficient probable cause to arrest you. If you were traveling in your vehicle just prior to your arrest, there may be problems with the reasons why the police stopped you in the first place. These evidentiary problems might even prevent prosecutors from presenting certain evidence against you at trial.
Based in Attleboro, our law firm's principal attorney has legal experience on both sides of the aisle. That means he has worked both as a prosecutor and as a criminal defense attorney. He is also a member of the NRA and the Gun Owners Actions League. Prospective clients should know that they can schedule confidential appointments to discuss their cases either online through this website or over the phone.