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My wife is looking at summer/retirement (is 30 yrs) homes in the Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island area. I’m doing the research now, but thought some of you might know off the top of your head. Out of these states, which ones have the best pro-gun/pro-carry laws and which are the worst? How about reciprocity with Texas?

Thanks in advance.

Vermont honors TX.

New Hampshire is open carry.

I would most likely go New Hampshire.

Vermont is the best; no law against concealed or openly-carried handguns, no magazine capacity restrictions. The Texas CHL is a non-issue. From personal experience, it is a very pleasant place to visit in the summertime, but ridiculously cold in the winter.

Last I heard, New Hampshire handgun licenses were very easy and quick to obtain for non-residents with CHLs from their home state. http://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/nhsp ... plupr.html I do not see that the Texas CHL itself is recognized, though.

Apparently Maine issues licenses/permits to non-residents though I do not remember them as recognizing a Texas CHL or other equivalent non-Maine issued documents. See http://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/licenses/n ... ackage.pdf

I am certain someone will make a statement about Rhode Island's concealed carry situation, so I will yield to that individual on that subject.

I think I read on packing.org a few yeas ago that Massachusetts is may issue and highly discretionary. I would not bother.

Connecticut's info can be located by going to http://www.ct.gov/dps/site/default.asp and clicking on "special licensing and firearms" at the left. Apparently they allow non-CT residents to apply for their permit.

Keep in mind that in getting to the New England states, you will likely have to pass through or fly close to the state of New York, which is deeply hostile territory when it comes to firearms, so be careful.

Mods, this thread may deserve to be moved elsewhere.

Vermont has unlicensed carry, but also has restrictions like school grounds, etc. I rank them second, behind NH.

New Hampshire doesn't have those kinds of restrictions. A resident NH license is must-issue and only $10 (non-resident is $20, and requires you already have a license from elsewhere). Unlicensed open carry is legal in NH. The list of places off-limits in NH is very short: courtrooms. That's it, the whole list, and they provide secure storage for your gun while you're inside.

Maine is third best in New England.

Massachusetts... well, I think you know the answer to that already.

Connecticut actually isn't too hard to get a resident license. I don't know how they treat those with summer homes.

Rhode Island makes New Jersey look like amateurs when it comes to corruption, bribery and graft. I don't know how that bears on issuing licenses, but I'm sure Frankie can give more information on that.

I'm naturally prejudiced toward NH, since that's where I plan to move and spend the rest of my life.

KBCraig wrote:Vermont has unlicensed carry, but also has restrictions like school grounds, etc. I rank them second, behind NH.

New Hampshire doesn't have those kinds of restrictions. A resident NH license is must-issue and only $10 (non-resident is $20, and requires you already have a license from elsewhere). Unlicensed open carry is legal in NH. The list of places off-limits in NH is very short: courtrooms. That's it, the whole list, and they provide secure storage for your gun while you're inside.

Maine is third best in New England.

Massachusetts... well, I think you know the answer to that already.

Connecticut actually isn't too hard to get a resident license. I don't know how they treat those with summer homes.

Rhode Island makes New Jersey look like amateurs when it comes to corruption, bribery and graft. I don't know how that bears on issuing licenses, but I'm sure Frankie can give more information on that.

I'm naturally prejudiced toward NH, since that's where I plan to move and spend the rest of my life.

I would assume so , but do not know...does NH have preemption laws?

pt145ss wrote:I would assume so , but do not know...does NH have preemption laws?

Yes. Total preemption. Only the General Court (state legislature) can pass gun laws.

Mass. is a lot like California; some places are practically shall issue, others aren't.

Your chances for getting a chl in mass go up greatly the farther you get from the boston metro area. I have a friend in western mass who got his easily.

Having said that, I'd stil stay away from mass, their other laws are less than optimal.

RI is the worst for non-residents. It's very hard to get a license through the AG's office. Theoretically, licenses issued by cities and towns are "shall issue" for residents and non-residents licensed by any other state, but the reality is that the towns will not issue to non-residents unless they have some connection to the town. (i.e. a business or property owner.)

Essentially, the cities and towns flout the law and just tell people to go to the AG. (And they get away with it too.)

MA is a little better than RI in that if you have a license from your home state they will generally issue one to you. But the fee is $100 and it's only good for one year. MA is very hostile to gun ownership in general with a multitude of restrictions on transport, storage, magazine capacity, and a long list of banned guns.

CT is not too bad for non-residents with licenses from their home states. But they have this weird procedure where you first have to get a license issued by a town (any town), and then apply to the state police for a license good all over the state. It's a hassle.

And CT also has some MA-like storage laws including a requirement that any lost or stolen guns be reported to the police within 48 hrs of when you "know or should have known" they were stolen. I think they also have a version of an AW ban like MA does.

Basically, RI, MA, and CT are hostile to gun owners.

VT is gun-friendly more or less as others have noted. NH is definitely the best of all the New England states. Non-res permits are cheap and easy to get. And the state is very gun-friendly.

Note that even though open carry is legal in NH and VT, it may draw some attention in urban areas. In rural areas it's no problem.

Maine ranks right behind NH and VT but is still pretty good. I am not familiar with their requirements in detail other than when I lived in RI I knew a lot of non-residents that had Maine licenses.

I will add that Maine doesn't have full preemption. The chief of police of one of the bigger cities (either Portland or Brunswick, I forget) is openly hostile to guns. Even though open carry is legal by state law, they have local ordinances against it.

Note also that RI has a defacto "catch and release" procedure for people that open carry. Even though it is fully legal to openly carry a handgun on a AG-issued permit, if you OCing and are not a uniformed security guard you will be arrested, questioned, and harassed in any way possible before ultimately being let go.

If you are not a security guard, don't OC in RI unless your purpose is to mount a "OC crusade" and you are lawyered up and ready to meet the consequences head on.