Mass. brother's red tape journey to his LTC & 1st pistol
Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 4:40 pm
Believe it or not, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has made some strides in
issuing LTC's (License to Carry) to average citizens.
That doesn't mean the process is anything like a "shall issue" state such as much of the US.
Mass. is a "may issue" state.
My brother is a US military veteran, clean record, clean lifestyle.
His application required him to write an essay detailing why he wanted his LTC.
Mass. LTC applicants must be interviewed by their local police departments, who have the
power to say yes or not to the LTC application.
Around October 2016 my brother set an appointment with his local police department's detective
who was in charge of the LTC interviews. The appointment was about 10 weeks out, on 12/28/16.
He was approved for his LTC as a result of that interview, and told that the plastic was to be
available about 3/15/17. Another 10 week wait.
About 3/7/17 my brother was getting antsy and visited his local police station. His plastic
was at the police station with an issuance date of 2/14/17! His local LEO's had been sitting on
his approved plastic for the better part of a month without letting him know it was in!
Since he didn't have a handgun, he started window shopping for his first handgun. He had looked
at a lot of them, but was initially drawn to a Canik 9MM. He liked the looks and feel of the pistol,
but it didn't have a manual safety, which he wanted.
He asked me about Canik. I knew it was Turkish, but I couldn't recall anyone on this board recently
who had one, and their opinion of it. I tried to encourage him to go with one of the more familiar
pistol brands.
Mass. has an "approved list" of handguns. You can't buy certain brands or models. I believe Springfield
Armory and Taurus handguns are not on the list. So I couldn't suggest a Springer, which I like.
The next time he went shopping for his handgun, he handled about 8 or 10 different models. He could
not remember all the models.
I had previously pointed him in the direction of either a Smith and Wesson Shield, or a Ruger American.
He handled the Shield, as well as a Ruger SR9.
He went home with the Shield, 9MM, with a manual safety, for $379.
Mission accomplished.
SIA
issuing LTC's (License to Carry) to average citizens.
That doesn't mean the process is anything like a "shall issue" state such as much of the US.
Mass. is a "may issue" state.
My brother is a US military veteran, clean record, clean lifestyle.
His application required him to write an essay detailing why he wanted his LTC.
Mass. LTC applicants must be interviewed by their local police departments, who have the
power to say yes or not to the LTC application.
Around October 2016 my brother set an appointment with his local police department's detective
who was in charge of the LTC interviews. The appointment was about 10 weeks out, on 12/28/16.
He was approved for his LTC as a result of that interview, and told that the plastic was to be
available about 3/15/17. Another 10 week wait.
About 3/7/17 my brother was getting antsy and visited his local police station. His plastic
was at the police station with an issuance date of 2/14/17! His local LEO's had been sitting on
his approved plastic for the better part of a month without letting him know it was in!
Since he didn't have a handgun, he started window shopping for his first handgun. He had looked
at a lot of them, but was initially drawn to a Canik 9MM. He liked the looks and feel of the pistol,
but it didn't have a manual safety, which he wanted.
He asked me about Canik. I knew it was Turkish, but I couldn't recall anyone on this board recently
who had one, and their opinion of it. I tried to encourage him to go with one of the more familiar
pistol brands.
Mass. has an "approved list" of handguns. You can't buy certain brands or models. I believe Springfield
Armory and Taurus handguns are not on the list. So I couldn't suggest a Springer, which I like.
The next time he went shopping for his handgun, he handled about 8 or 10 different models. He could
not remember all the models.
I had previously pointed him in the direction of either a Smith and Wesson Shield, or a Ruger American.
He handled the Shield, as well as a Ruger SR9.
He went home with the Shield, 9MM, with a manual safety, for $379.
Mission accomplished.
SIA
