MA Firearm Safety

Archive for October, 2019

(A little Halloween fun)

A little information before the story, St. Froid lake in Maine is nine miles long, a mile wide in some places surrounded by good sized hills. The echo on a still night is really good, with almost a ten second delay. I knew this well, I had been going to this camp my grandfather built since I was very little.
Now the short spooky story.
One fall, 30 years ago I brought my son and his friend to the camp, they were 8 and 10, it is quite secluded with a four mile ride into the woods on gated dirt roads to the camp on the edge and at the end of St. Froid Lake, no electricity, no indoor plumbing, (outhouse) propane lights and candles only.
We were having a good time doing things around the camp and lake. The sun was fading into the west, the shadows were getting longer. I asked the boys if they wanted to toast some marshmallows after dinner, of course, what child would say no to that?
As the twilight became more pronounced and the stars started twinkling on the mirrored surface of a very still lake……..I asked the boys if they had ever heard the story of the Yeti that came to terrorize these parts years ago? Of course they hadn’t, I said the story was like this as told to me as a boy:
A long time ago, from out of the north, came a demon of the big woods, no one knew why it came, but when it did it rampaged through the region causing death and destruction everywhere, camps were torn apart, people went missing never to be seen again, terror reigned supreme though the lake campgrounds!! No one who saw this demon lived to tell the tale, only the bloody claw marks on ripped apart log cabins and shredded clothing strewn about and huge footprints in the dirt bore witness to the what had savagely passed through the region….
The boys listened intently. That was many years ago I said, before my grandfather was born, no one knew why it came, and no one knew why it departed, some say it wanted revenge on people for encroaching into its domain. I was told as a boy that it would let out an awful scream in the night, and people would know an evil terror was coming!!
I think I can give a scream kind of like it if you want me to try I said to the boys, they nervously agreed that I try. (they did not know of the delayed echo of the lake) So I let out a blood curdling scream then casually said that’s probably what the Yeti sounded like….
Suddenly, from the dark distant wooded hills, and seemingly from all around came a terrorizing reply!!! I said OH NO! ITS BACK!! IT ANSWERED ME!!! IT’S RETURNING!!
Well you can imagine the total dread that came over the boys, they wanted to pack up right then and there and go home NOW!!
It took me thirty minutes to calm them down and explain the echo, they were mad at me for a couple days before they started to think it was a good camp fire tale. Beware the returning Yeti bent on destruction o’ people of the North Maine Woods! Mark Shean, 10-27-19, author of GUN SENSE, on Amazon.

I was going to turn my gun into the government, but I decided to do a background check on the ones that want my guns, I discovered that they were all mentally unstable, so I guess I will keep it in sane hands after all, mine.

Mark Shean, author of GUN SENSE, on Amazon,

Until 2018, Massachusetts prohibited anyone who wasn’t a law enforcement officer from having a stun gun—any type of weapon or portable device that uses an electrical current to incapacitate someone temporarily. After that total ban was struck down as unconstitutional, the state changed its laws to include stun guns in the legal definition of a firearm. That means that Massachusetts residents who want stun guns must meet the state’s licensing and other requirements for gun possession and use.

Stun Guns: From Ban to Regulations

Massachusetts law treats all stun guns alike, whether they deliver an electric shock on direct contact or shoot darts attached to wires that carry an electrical charge (like Tasers, a brand name commonly used for this kind of pistol-type device). Previously, the state limited the use of stun guns to law enforcement officers. In 2018, however, the state’s highest court found that the absolute ban on civilian possession of these weapons, even in one’s own home, violated the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms. (Ramirez v. Commonwealth, 94 N.E.3d 809 (Sup. Jud. Ct. Mass 2018).)

Soon after that decision, Massachusetts amended its laws to get rid of the ban but to require regulations restricting the use of stun guns by anyone without a license. Civilians in the state may buy and carry a stun gun if they have license to carry firearms, as long as the electronic device is in a shape that resembles a gun. That explicitly rules out “covert” electronic weapons that resemble other objects like pens. (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, §§ 121, 131, 131J (2019).)

Restrictions on Stun Gun Licenses

As with other types of firearms, Massachusetts law prohibits certain people from getting licenses for stun guns, including those who:

• are under 21
• have been convicted of a felony, violent crime, weapons violation, or domestic violence
• are subject to domestic violence protection order, or
• are subject to an “extreme risk protection order ” (ERPO) which prohibits gun possession by those who pose a risk of injuring themselves or others with firearms.

Because of these restrictions, you’ll have to undergo a background check before getting a license for a stun gun. If you’re served with an ERPO, you must also surrender your license, along with any stun gun in your possession or control” (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, §§ 131, 131s (2019).)

Proper Storage of Stun Guns

Also in response to the Ramirez decision, Massachusetts added a law that requires storing any stun gun in a locked container that can only be opened by the owner or someone else who’s legally authorized to use the weapon (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 131L (2019)).

No Stun Guns in Airports or Planes

It’s illegal to enter to or try to enter a secure area of an airport or plane cabin with a stun gun, even if you have a firearms license (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 12F (2019)).

Submitted By Mark Shean, author of Gun Sense, at Amazon