Massachusetts Open Carry Laws

Massachusetts Open Carry Laws

What the Rewritten Section 131 Entitles the Holder to Do

The License to Carry firearms that Massachusetts issues today is governed by MGL c. 140, s. 131 in the form St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 49 gave it. That section struck the prior version in full and replaced it, providing that "Said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by striking out section 131, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-" The section that took its place opens by declaring that "The issuance and possession of a license to carry firearms shall be subject to the following conditions and restrictions," and then enumerates them, running from subsection (a) through subsection (h).

Those enumerated conditions and restrictions cover the safety certificate requirement in (b), the rifle and shotgun entitlement in (c), who may apply in (d), the license term in (e), machine gun licensing in (f), the address change duty in (g), and the secretary's regulatory authority in (h). Nothing in that enumeration sorts license holders into subtypes, and nothing in it conditions the entitlement on how the licensee carries. The old class designations that Massachusetts license holders once knew do not appear anywhere in the replacement section. One regulation still on the books runs behind the current statute: the definitions at 515 CMR 3.03 define "LTC. License to Carry Firearms which shall include both Class A and Class B licenses," a split the rewritten s. 131 no longer contains.

A license issued before the rewrite stays in force on its own terms. St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 153 provides that "A valid license to carry a firearm issued under sections 131 or 131F of chapter 140 of the General Laws, a valid firearm identification card under section 129B of said chapter 140 or a valid license to sell under section 122 of said chapter 140, shall remain valid until the expiration, suspension or revocation of said license and shall entitle the holder to possess the firearms authorized by the license at the time it was last issued or renewed." A holder carrying a Class A or Class B card keeps it until it expires or is suspended or revoked, and the statute fixes that holder's entitlement at the firearms the license authorized when it was last issued or renewed.

What the license does is set out in subsection (a):

"A license shall entitle a holder thereof of a license to purchase, rent, lease, borrow, possess and carry firearms, including large capacity firearms and ammunition therefor. The license shall not entitle a holder thereof to transfer, possess or carry large capacity feeding devices or assault-style firearms unless such transfer, possession or carry is permitted under section 131M."

The verb the statute uses is "carry," unqualified as to method. The limits subsection (a) places on the entitlement are limits on what may be carried, not on how. So a licensee carrying a handgun where it can be seen is doing what subsection (a) entitles the holder to do, and MGL c. 269, s. 10(a), the offense the license answers, is defeated by an in-effect license without regard to whether the firearm is visible. Limits come from elsewhere. The public way rule for long guns and the prohibited areas are set out below, and s. 10(j) reaches school property on its own terms, so read those together rather than treating any one of them as the whole picture.

Large capacity firearms are inside the subsection (a) entitlement, and carrying one without the license is its own offense. MGL c. 269, s. 10(m) reaches a person not exempted by statute who knowingly has in his possession, or under his control in a vehicle, "a large capacity firearm or large capacity feeding device therefor who does not possess a valid license to carry firearms issued under section 131 or 131F of chapter 140," punishable "by imprisonment in a state prison for not less than two and one-half years nor more than ten years." An FID card is no answer: the paragraph provides that "The possession of a valid firearm identification card issued under section 129B shall not be a defense for a violation of this subsection", and adds that a charged person holding a valid FID card "shall not be subject to any mandatory minimum sentence imposed by this paragraph." Large capacity feeding devices and assault-style firearms sit outside the entitlement unless s. 131M permits the carry.

Subsection (c) adds a second layer: "A license to carry firearms shall be valid to own, possess, purchase and transfer rifles and shotguns that are not large capacity or semi-automatic, consistent with the entitlements conferred by a firearm identification card issued under section 129B." Subsection (f) carves machine guns out, providing that "No person shall be issued a license to carry a machine gun in the commonwealth," subject to narrow exceptions for certain certified firearm instructors and bona fide collectors.

Who May Apply

Subsection (d) opens the application to more than in-jurisdiction residents. It reaches "A lawful resident 21 years of age or older residing within the jurisdiction of the licensing authority or any law enforcement officer employed by the licensing authority or any person residing in an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction located within a city or town." Issuance runs through MGL c. 140, s. 121F, and the licensing authority "shall issue as provided under section 121F only if it appears that the applicant is neither a prohibited person nor determined to be unsuitable." An initial application also requires that "the licensing authority shall conduct a personal interview with the applicant."

Non-residents go a different route. MGL c. 140, s. 131F provides that a temporary License to Carry firearms within the commonwealth "shall be issued by the colonel of state police, or persons authorized by him, to a nonresident or any person not falling within the jurisdiction of a local licensing authority," again on a finding that the applicant "is not a prohibited person and is not determined unsuitable." That license is a License to Carry on a different footing from the one s. 131 issues. It "shall be valid for a period of one year but the colonel may renew such license if such renewal is necessary," it "shall be clearly marked 'Temporary License to Carry Firearms' and shall not be used to purchase firearms in the commonwealth as provided in section 131E," and the large capacity entitlement is not automatic: "A large capacity firearm may be carried if the person has been issued a license; provided, however, that this entitlement shall be clearly indicated on the license." A holder of a temporary license should read the card itself rather than s. 131(a) for that entitlement.

The Offense the License Answers

The reason the license matters is MGL c. 269, s. 10(a). That subsection reaches whoever, "except as provided or exempted by statute, knowingly has in his possession; or knowingly has under his control in a vehicle; a firearm, loaded or unloaded, as defined in section one hundred and twenty-one of chapter one hundred and forty" without one of the listed conditions, and then repeats the structure for "a rifle or shotgun, loaded or unloaded."

The parallel lists are not identical. The firearm branch defeats liability on "being present in or on his residence or place of business," on an in-effect license to carry under s. 131, on an in-effect license under s. 131F, on "having complied with the provisions of sections one hundred and twenty-nine C and one hundred and thirty-one G of chapter one hundred and forty," and on compliance as to an air rifle or BB gun under s. 12B. Read the fourth of those routes with care: St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 64 provides that "Section 131G of said chapter 140 is hereby repealed," while the text of section 10(a) still names it. The rifle and shotgun branch opens with the same residence, s. 131 and s. 131F items, but its clause (4) reads differently: "having in effect a firearms identification card issued under section one hundred and twenty-nine B of chapter one hundred and forty." It then carries a clause with no counterpart on the firearm branch: "having complied with the requirements imposed by section one hundred and twenty-nine C of chapter one hundred and forty upon ownership or possession of not semiautomatic rifles and shotguns." That clause, numbered (5) on the long gun branch, is a standalone route for a person holding s. 129C compliance as to a bolt action or other non-semiautomatic long gun, and the air rifle and BB gun item follows it at (6).

The opening item in each list stands on its own. A person "being present in or on his residence or place of business" is outside the reach of s. 10(a) without needing anything else on the list. The subsection separately preserves the FID rule, providing that it "shall not affect the licensing requirements of section one hundred and twenty-nine C of chapter one hundred and forty which require every person not otherwise duly licensed or exempted to have been issued a firearms identification card in order to possess a firearm, rifle or shotgun in his residence or place of business."

A violation is punished "by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two and one-half years nor more than five years, or for not less than 18 months nor more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction." The statute forecloses relief: the sentence "shall not be reduced to less than 18 months, nor suspended," no person convicted under the subsection is "eligible for probation, parole, work release, or furlough or receive any deduction from his sentence for good conduct" until 18 months are served, and prosecutions "shall neither be continued without a finding nor placed on file." A loaded firearm adds a consecutive term. Under s. 10(n), whoever violates paragraph (a) or paragraph (c) "by means of a loaded firearm shall be further punished by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 21/2 years, which sentence shall begin from and after the expiration of the sentence for the violation of paragraph (a) or paragraph (c)."

The license operates as an answer within that section. The subsection states that "No person having in effect a license to carry firearms for any purpose, issued under section one hundred and thirty-one or section one hundred and thirty-one F of chapter one hundred and forty shall be deemed to be in violation of this section." The phrase "for any purpose" is doing real work: the purpose recorded on the license does not narrow the protection.

Read the closing words as carefully as the opening ones. The safe harbor answers a charge under "this section," and that section is c. 269, s. 10. It says nothing about any other section of chapter 269, so it does not reach c. 269, s. 12D, the public way rule for rifles and shotguns taken up below.

Inside s. 10 the safe harbor is overridden in one place by express language. Paragraph (j), the school grounds offense, opens with a definition of its own, "For the purposes of this paragraph, 'firearm' shall mean any pistol, revolver, rifle or smoothbore arm from which a shot, bullet or pellet can be discharged," and then applies "notwithstanding any license obtained by the person pursuant to chapter 140" to a person who "carries on their person a firearm, loaded or unloaded, or other dangerous weapon in any building or on the grounds of any elementary or secondary school, college or university, including transport used for students of said institution" without written authorization from the board or officer in charge. Punishment is "a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or both." The paragraph excepts a qualified law enforcement officer and a qualified retired law enforcement officer "as defined in the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004, 18 U.S.C. sections 926B and 926C," and, in the text effective August 5, 2025, a law enforcement officer under c. 6E who is currently certified.

Rifles and Shotguns on a Public Way

The statute that speaks most directly to carrying a long gun openly in public is MGL c. 269, s. 12D, titled "Rifle or shotgun loaded with shells or cartridges; unloaded rifle or shotgun; carrying on public way prohibited; exceptions; punishment."

The s. 10(a) safe harbor does not travel here. It says a licensee shall not "be deemed to be in violation of this section," and s. 12D is a different section. That section opens with a lead-in of its own, "Except as exempted or provided by law," which is the structural twin of the "except as provided or exempted by statute" that opens s. 10(a). Neither lead-in resolves itself, and no statute quoted here resolves the s. 12D lead-in in favor of a License to Carry. The exceptions the section does write out are in subsection (d), below.

Subsection (a) provides that "Except as exempted or provided by law, no person shall carry on his person on any public way a loaded rifle or shotgun having cartridges or shells in either the magazine or chamber thereof." The definition it supplies is broad, reaching "any shotgun or rifle having ammunition in either the magazine or chamber thereof," including "a live cartridge, primer (igniter), bullet or propellant powder," and for muzzle loading or black powder arms, powder in the flash pan with a percussion cap and shot or ball. A blank cartridge containing no projectile does not count.

Violation of subsection (a) draws "a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000 or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than two years, or by both such fine and imprisonment," and the offender "may be arrested without a warrant." The elevated tier applies "if such rifle or shotgun is a large capacity weapon, as defined in section 121 of chapter 140," in which case the punishment rises to "a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years, or by both such fine and imprisonment." Take that phrase as a quotation of text the legislature has already changed. MGL c. 140, s. 121 defines "Large capacity firearm" and "Large capacity feeding device," and it carries no definition of "large capacity weapon." St. 2024, c. 135, SECTION 140 amends s. 12D "by striking out, in line 30, the word 'weapon' and inserting in place thereof the following word:- firearm." Subsection (b), set out next, already uses the defined term.

Subsection (b) reaches the unloaded long gun: "Except as exempted or provided by law, no person shall carry on his person on any public way an unloaded rifle or shotgun, unless such rifle or shotgun is enclosed in a case." That violation draws "a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000," with warrantless arrest available. Where the unloaded long gun is a large capacity firearm "and is carried simultaneously with a fully or partially loaded large capacity feeding device," the grading jumps to "a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years, or by both such fine and imprisonment." Subsection (b) does not apply "to drills, parades, military reenactments or other commemorative ceremonies, color guards or memorial service firing squads, so-called, as permitted by law."

Read the exceptions in subsection (d) before assuming a license answers s. 12D. They cover government officers, agents and employees, law enforcement personnel and military or other service members, each required to be "authorized by a competent authority to so carry" and "acting within the scope of his duties or training." The list closes with "a person who is lawfully engaged in hunting and is the holder of a valid hunting or sporting license issued pursuant to chapter 131." The section also does not apply "to the operation of a shooting gallery, licensed and defined under the provisions of section 56A of chapter 140, nor to persons using the same." Under subsection (c), on conviction "such rifle or shotgun shall be confiscated by the commonwealth."

The hunting exception is narrower than it looks. It runs only while the holder "is lawfully engaged in hunting," and the chapter 131 license it requires is itself conditioned on training: MGL c. 131, s. 14 provides that "It shall be unlawful for any resident or non-resident to hunt for any bird or mammal in the commonwealth unless such person has successfully completed a hunter education course as prescribed by this section, or unless such person has held a license so to hunt, before January 1, 2007."

Note the definitional overlap. MGL c. 140, s. 121 defines "Firearm" as "a stun gun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, sawed-off shotgun, large capacity firearm, assault-style firearm and machine gun, loaded or unloaded, which is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a shot or bullet; the frame or receiver of any such firearm or the unfinished frame or receiver of any such firearm; provided, however, that 'firearm' shall not include any antique firearm or permanently inoperable firearm." A rifle or shotgun is therefore a firearm under s. 10, while s. 12D writes a separate public way rule keyed to long guns. An antique firearm sits outside the s. 121 definition, and s. 12D supplies a definition of its own that reaches muzzle loading and black powder arms.

Purpose Restrictions Written on a License

Licensing authorities historically wrote purpose restrictions onto licenses. The Department of Criminal Justice Information Services addressed their status after New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, stating that restrictions appearing on a License to Carry, "limiting the license holder to carrying a firearm only for such activities as hunting, target shooting, employment, or the like," are "no longer enforceable." A holder wanting a clean license before renewal "may contact your licensing authority," and on reapplication "you will be provided a new LTC without any such restrictions" absent a prohibited person or unsuitability determination. That answer is about the restrictions printed on a license. It does not reach the place-based restrictions covered below, which MGL c. 269, s. 10(k)(5) expressly preserves.

Suitability Continues After Issuance

Suitability is not a one-time gate. MGL c. 140, s. 121F(k) directs a licensing authority to deny an application or renewal "to a person the licensing authority determines to be unsuitable," and sets the standard: "A determination of unsuitability shall be based on reliable, articulable and credible information that the applicant has exhibited or engaged in behavior that suggests that, if issued a permit, card or license, the applicant may create a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to themselves or others." A denial on that basis requires written notice "setting forth the specific reasons for the determination."

The same standard reaches back at an existing license. Under s. 121F(u)(1), a licensing authority "may also revoke or suspend any license, card or permit" issued under the listed sections "upon a subsequent determination of unsuitability as defined in subsection (k) or upon satisfactory proof that the license, card or permit holder has violated or permitted any violation of this chapter." Neither s. 121F(k) nor s. 121F(u) names a manner of carry as a factor. Both turn on the subsection (k) standard, which is written in terms of behavior suggesting a risk to public safety or a risk of danger.

Adjacent Rules That Apply Regardless of Method

Prohibited areas. MGL c. 269, s. 10(k)(1) punishes whoever "possesses a firearm, loaded or unloaded, as defined in section 121 of chapter 140, in a prohibited area, and knows or reasonably should know such location is a prohibited area" by "a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 21/2 years, or both such fine and imprisonment." The definition sits at (k)(2). Its clause (i) reaches a place "owned, leased, or under the control of state, county or municipal government and used for the purpose of government administration, judicial or court administrative proceedings, or correctional services, including in or upon any part of the buildings, grounds, or parking areas thereof," with provisos that cut the other way: a prohibited area "shall not include any state-owned public land available to the public for hunting," and "a municipality may vote pursuant to section 4 of chapter 4 to exclude its administrative buildings from being a 'prohibited area'." Clause (ii) reaches a location in use for the storage or tabulation of ballots during the hours voting or tabulation is occurring, and "a polling place or early voting site while open for voting or within 150 feet of the building entrance door to such polling place or early voting site."

Paragraph (k) carries no "notwithstanding any license" clause of the kind paragraph (j) uses. It supplies a defense of its own at (k)(4): "It shall be a defense to a violation of this subsection that a person with the necessary license or card issued under sections 129B, 131 or 131F of chapter 140 to possess the firearm securely stored said firearm in a vehicle while within the prohibited area in accordance with sections 131C and 131L of chapter 140." Clause (5) exempts qualified and qualified retired law enforcement officers and a security guard employed at the prohibited area, and closes with a savings clause that makes the statutory list a floor rather than a ceiling: "Nothing in this paragraph shall limit the authority of any municipality, county or department, division, commission, board, agency or court of the commonwealth to adopt policies further restricting the possession of firearms in areas under their control."

Impairment. MGL c. 269, s. 10H reaches a license holder who "carries on his person, or has under his control in a vehicle, a loaded firearm" while at or above a blood alcohol percentage by weight of eight one-hundredths, or while under the influence of the substances the section lists. Punishment is "a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or by both such fine and imprisonment."

Key Statutory References