Massachusetts

Massachusetts does not have a statute banning open carry for a License to Carry (LTC) holder — post-Bruen, an unrestricted LTC (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140 §131) entitles the holder to 'possess and carry' firearms, without a concealment requirement in the statutory text. However, secondary legal sources consistently warn that open carry risks a 'suitability' review and possible license revocation/suspension by local licensing authorities, since it can be treated as a public-safety concern. So it's technically legal but practically discouraged/risky — a real conditional, not a clean yes.

Massachusetts has no statute addressing places of worship specifically (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269 §12F covers only airports); carry there is a property-owner decision.

No Massachusetts statute was found restricting LTC carry in bars/restaurants by location; secondary sources (forums, USCCA-type summaries) consistently say there is no such restriction, only a strict alcohol-impairment carry rule and enforceable private-property exclusion. I could not confirm this via an official Massachusetts source, so it's marked conditional.

A Massachusetts LTC is generally valid statewide subject to MGL c.269 §10's prohibited-place list (government/judicial/correctional buildings, schools, and other categories, expanded by the 2024 'Act Modernizing Firearm Laws,' c.135). I could not confirm the full, current list well enough to say whether it reaches state parks, reservoirs, or beaches (several other Northeast/coastal states with similarly recent post-Bruen laws — NY, NJ, RI, MD, CT — do restrict park or beach carry), so I'm not confident giving a flat yes for Massachusetts waters.

Massachusetts has long barred firearms in courthouses (enforced through statute and standing judicial/administrative security orders, with checkpoints at essentially every courthouse), and the 2024 'Act Modernizing Firearm Laws' (Ch. 135 of the Acts of 2024, effective Oct. 2, 2024) expanded the statutory list of off-limits 'sensitive locations' to include government administrative buildings generally, in addition to courthouses.

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10(j) bars carrying a firearm on the grounds of any college or university, public or private, without written authorization from the institution's governing board/officer.

Directly checked Mass. Gen. Laws c. 269, § 10 (the core carry-without-license offense provision); it is silent on private-business defaults, meaning ordinary common-law trespass principles govern — an LTC holder may carry in a private business unless the owner posts notice or asks them to leave (c. 266, § 120, trespass).

No MA statute requires advance owner consent for carry on non-public private property; general trespass law (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 266, sec. 120) operates on a 'vacate upon request/notice' model. MA's restrictiveness is concentrated in permit issuance (may-issue) and an enumerated sensitive-places list, not a private-property consent default. Not independently re-verified via direct statute fetch this session, so moderate rather than top confidence.

No Massachusetts source I found mentions airports specifically among restricted locations for a License to Carry holder. Massachusetts has historically discretionary carry licensing and I could not access Massachusetts General Laws c.269 §10 or any Massport (Logan Airport) policy directly to confirm either way, so this is unresolved.

Massachusetts requires a License to Carry (LTC) to keep a loaded handgun 'under direct control' in a vehicle. Without a valid MA-recognized LTC, a handgun must be unloaded and cased/locked for transport, and Massachusetts is well known for not recognizing other states' carry permits at all — an out-of-state permit holder passing through generally cannot rely on their home-state permit and must follow the unloaded/locked transport rules.

No Massachusetts statute prohibits firearms in hospitals; the only medical-adjacent citation found (Mass. Gen. Laws ch.269 §12F(b)) concerns airports, not hospitals.

Massachusetts requires a License to Carry. Mass. Gen. Laws c.269 §10(k)(2)'s prohibited-place language covers government administrative/judicial/correctional buildings and polling places; no rest area or general vehicle restriction. Verified against the statute text directly.

M.G.L. c. 140 (license-to-carry provisions): "Any person in possession of any firearm is required to exhibit his FID, receipt for FID card fee, license to carry, or hunting license to a law enforcement officer upon demand." This is a document-production duty triggered by demand, not a freestanding proactive duty to announce being armed.

MGL c.140 §131F: a temporary (1-year) License to Carry is issued by the Colonel of State Police / Firearms Records Bureau to non-residents, distinct from the resident LTC issued by local police chiefs. First-time applicants must appear in person at the Firearms Records Bureau.

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, §10(j) bars carrying a firearm on the grounds of any elementary or secondary school (or college) without the WRITTEN authorization of the school's governing board/officer — this applies regardless of whether the carrier holds a Massachusetts License to Carry; no LTC exception is provided. Written school authorization is the only path in.

Massachusetts's general trespass statute, M.G.L. c. 266 § 120, criminalizes entering/remaining after being 'forbidden so to do... whether directly or by notice posted thereon' — but this covers forbidding ENTRY altogether, not conditioning entry on specific conduct. A 'no firearms' sign restricts what a visitor may do once inside (a conditional-use rule), not whether they may enter at all, so on the statute's own terms it likely does not by itself satisfy § 120's entry-prohibition notice requirement; the business would need to specifically direct the person to leave (converting it into an entry-prohibition notice) for trespass liability to attach.

Massachusetts has only "limited preemption." Carry licenses (M.G.L. c.140 §131) are issued by local police chiefs/licensing authorities, who set restrictions and conditions on each license, and Boston (via the Boston Police Commissioner) has historically administered stricter practices than other localities. Post-Bruen (2022) MA is de facto shall-issue for eligibility, but local issuing authorities retain discretion over license conditions/locations.

Mass. Gen. Laws c. 269, § 10(k)(2)(ii) (enacted by Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, 'An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws') bars carrying within 150 feet of a polling place or early-voting site entrance while open for voting, or at ballot storage/tabulation locations while in use. The only accommodation for licensees is securely storing the firearm in a vehicle — active carry remains barred. Note: a Nov 2026 veto referendum (Question 9) on this law is pending, but Gov. Healey signed an emergency preamble on Oct 2, 2024 putting the law into force immediately, so it remains current law regardless of the referendum outcome.

10-round limit (5 shells for shotguns), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 131M, with an exception for magazines lawfully possessed before Sept. 13, 1994. Currently enforced.

Extreme Risk Protection Order, M.G.L. c. 140 §§ 131R–131Y (2018). Petitioners: family or household members, law enforcement officers/agencies, and the licensing authority. (Family/household members have no legal duty to file and face no liability for not doing so.)

Sharp split by category. Suppressors: banned outright for civilians under M.G.L. c. 269, §10A — federal NFA registration does NOT override the state ban. Machine guns: M.G.L. c. 269, §10(c) criminalizes possession without permission under c.140, §131 — lawful civilian possession requires a Massachusetts machine-gun ('Class 3') license, discretionary with the local police chief and rarely granted to private individuals, so functionally close to unavailable even with a completed federal NFA transfer. Short-barreled rifles/shotguns: the statutory 'sawed-off shotgun' definition (c.140 §121) by its terms only covers shotgun-pattern weapons, not rifles, but secondary MA compliance guides consistently describe SBR/SBS as requiring state-level approval too. Given suppressors are a hard ban and machine guns are functionally unavailable, do not treat this state as 'yes' for any NFA item.

No statute. Case law (Commonwealth v. Niemic, 427 Mass. 718, 696 N.E.2d 117 (1998)) holds a person must use all proper and reasonable means, including retreat, to avoid physical combat before resorting to deadly force in public; no duty to retreat from one's own home (Commonwealth v. Shaffer, 367 Mass. 508 (1975)). No duty at home; duty in public.

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, §§ 123, 128A. A buyer must already hold a Firearm ID Card or License to Carry (each independently subject to a background check to obtain), and private sales must be reported/verified through the state's Firearms Records Bureau system, making the regime effectively universal.