The Supreme Judicial Court today thew out a state law barring people from going out in public with a switchblade, concluding the knives are "arms" under the Second Amendment and that means people can legally pack them for self protection. Read more.
A federal judge today tossed a Mansfield man's request to quash a charge of using a gun in furtherance of a drug crime on Second Amendment grounds, concluding that even the most recent Supreme Court gun decisions still only allow gun ownership for "law abiding" reasons and that using guns to stave off other drug dealers doesn't count. Read more.
A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit by a now former radiologist over the state's gun laws, saying the Supreme Court still gives states the rights to regulate guns and besides, he really needs to first finish his appeal in state court on his convictions for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Read more.
A federal judge says the state's ban on certain high-powered assault weapons complies with the Second Amendment and so he's rejected a request for a preliminary injunction that would let one Massachusetts man in particular, but also other gun fans, stock up on semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines while a lawsuit over the issue wends its way through the courts. Read more.
A Quincy man with a record that includes convictions for armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery on a police officer will have to stand trial in federal court on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm for the loaded gun police say they found in his apartment following his arrest on drug charges in Roxbury last year. Read more.
Four Bostonians, joined by three gun groups, last week sued Police Commissioner Michael Cox over what they say are excessive delays in processing their license-to-carry applications. Read more.
Update: Lawsuit dismissed.
A now former radiologist who currently lists a Brookline address last week sued the state in federal court seeking a ruling that the Second Amendment gives him the absolute right to own guns and that Massachusetts can just stuff its gun-registration laws. Read more.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that a Supreme Court decision last year that lets people pack guns for protection outside the home means it has no choice but to overturn a Boston man's conviction for the gun and bullets Boston and Watertown police found in his glove box - but the court upheld his 2 1/2 to 3-year sentence for one of the magazines they also found. Read more.
CNN reports the Supreme Court declined to hear ten gun-control cases, one of them a challenge to the way Massachusetts bans certain semiautomatic firearms and high-capacity magazines. The decision not to hear the case means our regulations stay in place.
Earlier:
Federal appeals court upholds Massachusetts ban on the sale of certain assault weapons.
A federal judge today issued a preliminary injunction that bars Gov. Baker from continuing to shut gun shops because, after all, come on, Charlie, Second Amendment. And that goes for you too, Maura. Read more.
The Supreme Judicial Court today upheld a man's conviction for discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building - more specifically in his case, for accidentally shooting a pal in the bedroom of his father's house by pulling the trigger on what he thought was an empty gun as he was putting it away. Read more.
People are using large-capacity, semi-automatic weapons to commit mass murders, not protect themselves at home, a federal appeals court said yesterday, upholding the way Massachusetts bans the sale of certain assault weapons. Read more.
The Supreme Judicial Court today rejected a man's Second Amendment challenges to his conviction for illegal gun possession, ruling he failed to obtain a gun license within 60 days of moving here as required by state law, and never mind that he allegedly used the gun to threaten his Massachusetts girlfriend at least twice during the six months they shared her apartment, the last time during a drunken rage that forced her to flee her apartment and call 911. Read more.
The Supreme Judicial Court today upheld a Texas native's conviction for illegal possession of an assault weapon and illegal possession of another gun, ruling that the Second Amendment still gives Massachusetts the right to ban assault weapons and regulate ownership of other guns. Read more.
The Supreme Judicial Court today dismissed a Revere man's conviction for possession of a stun gun, because the state's current complete ban on their ownership violates the Second Amendment. The ruling could spur legislation to regulate the weapons, similar to the way more traditional guns are. Read more.
A federal judge has upheld the state's long-standing ban on AR-15 rifles and similar weapons - and said the state had the right to extend that to "copycat" weapons that high slight differences from and different names than the weapons specifically mentioned in the original law. Read more.
A federal judge last week upheld Boston's and Brookline's tight restrictions on who can carry guns, saying the state law that allows them does not violate the Second Amendment. Read more.
An MRI technician at Brigham and Women's hospital who says she has to drive through "difficult areas" on her nightly drive home is one of three people who say a state ban on tasers and stun guns violates their 2nd Amendment rights. Read more.
Is Healey a fascist or a communist? Probably both, protesters say.
Hundreds of people converged on the State House today to protest Attorney General Maura Healey's decision to ban the sale of more types of semi-automatic rifles in Massachusetts and demand she rip her order up. Read more.
The Supreme Judicial Court today upheld a state law that prohibits the ownership of stun guns except by police.
A woman initially stopped for shoplifting in Ashland in 2011 was charged with illegal possession of the stun gun police found in her purse. The woman sued to overturn her conviction, arguing the Second Amendment gave her the right to own the device for self defense, in her case as protection against a violent ex-boyfriend against whom she had already used the weapon.
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