This was also posted in legal, so I hope that I don't get teh evil hammer.


(Mods, if need be, please delete one or the other)





Friend was driving a box truck, (no trunk) from VA to NH recently.




Got stopped by MA state police, blah, blah,
"Do you have any firearms?"
"Yes, got a Glock behind passenger seat, with trigger lock, and chamber lock"
OOPS,




Friend got arrested, spent night in slammer,



charged, and indicted for illegal possession of handgun in MA.
Made bail, $0, just PR.




However, charges carries mandatory 18 months jail time.




He tried to tell LEO, CLEO, DA, and judge about federal transport law.




Answer was :
"We dont care, this is MA, and MA law supersedes Fed. law"
So, my friend needs a gun savvy attorney in MA, hopefully in the Sturbridge area.




Any names, leads, contact info, would be greatly appreciated.
Please post here, or IM / e-mail to me.
Thanks in advance.
 

I'd try GOAL. co m.
The Gun Owners Action League probably has a lawyer referral service.

Good luck.

I am sorry I can not help with a lawyer, but here is some info on FOPA, which he could have used to protect himself, but there are some problems...


"shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. "


FOPA is his only hope, but it does not sound like he followed it to the letter.

YIKES!!!

I drive to VT through Mass often and alot of those times I have guns with me..

That scares me....

The law is pretty clear, Its bullshit, but its clear ... put it in the trunk, unloaded, and inform Mass state police when driving through the state...  His  friend should have had his gun in the back of the box truck. He may be in a assload of trouble. I hate these stories ... people in Iraq had (before we got there)  more gun rights than we do.

what?

no way I am going to tell the mass police that I have guns in their state
while this guy may not have followed FOPA to the letter, mass still disregards it if they "catch" you
not going to volunteer that I am not doing anything illegal

Yeah,

He claims that he had NO knowledge of the bullshit MA laws, or of the Federal FOPA.



Kinda amazing that he had the gun secured, too.



I hope that he doesn't find out how much stupid can hurt, but it doesn't look good,

for now.

He really needs a good attorney, anybody got contacts?
 

have you asked here?

Go to the link that dj put up and ask/look for username Cross-X and PM him.he specializes in MA gun laws.

Well, IANAL but IMNSHO this guy is "toast". Since he didn't obey FOPA, he'll likely have a very, very difficult time fighting the MA gun laws as that is the only way he would have been legit in MA.

He's likely going to have to take a plea bargain and end up with a gun conviction that may make him a forbidden person in many states (definitely in MA) after all is said and done.

At any rate, he needs a good GUN CRIMINAL Attorney and my only recommendation in this case would be Atty Kevin Reddington. He's an expert in this field and has defended numerous LEOs as well as civilians in gun cases. I'm sure that he won't come cheap and he's not in Central MA either.

Atty Kevin Reddington
1342 Belmont St, Ste 203
Brockton, MA  02301
(508) 583-4280

I'm a MA resident and I don't understand what he did wrong? The pistol had a trigger lock on it so why did he get arrested?

I live less than 2 miles from the MA border. It still sends chills down my spine when I recall the time I drove through MA with my AR15 (collapsing stock and other evil features) in the back seat of my car. I left NH and was going to NH, but cut through MA. One slip up, but got lucky and made it home. Didn't even occur to me until I got home. It could have cost me my job, savings, and even my freedom. All for a useless knee-jerk law.

If I didn't have family, friends, and a great job in MA, I'd never set foot in it again. No offense intended to those who live there, but that state sucks.

Keep us informed on how your friend does with the law. I hope he comes out of it alright.



Possession of a handgun without a permit. It needed to be in a case and inaccessible.

"Yeah,
He claims that he had NO knowledge of the bullshit MA laws, or of the Federal FOPA."

Ignorance of the law is not a defense, unfortunately in his case.  MA gun laws suck ass, period.  I wish your friend well and hope he comes out of this ok, but like stated above, it does not look good at this point.

i really wish someone would beat up on MA badly in court. i'd love to see MA taxpayers subsidizing some good, gun-owning, american's new life of luxury. i'd love to see the state of MA being the reason someone can now afford to buy machineguns.

Resolved



here



http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=6&t=871818

Don't worry, a lot of people that live here hate the state too.