Massachusetts Governor Won’t Reinstate Gun Permits

by
posted on December 8, 2018
judges-gavel.jpg (7)

It seems Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker thinks he is above the law—at least as far as guns are concerned. Even though district court judges have ordered that hundreds of law-abiding citizens should have their permits reinstated, Baker has stood firm on rejecting the order.

The legal battle started seven months ago, when state officials asserted that the Firearm Licensing Review Board was granting permits to people who could have been federally barred from owning a gun.

Baker defended his position by saying that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) noted that the Review Board had crossed the line. The ATF “made very clear to us” that the permits should be revoked, Baker said, as reported in The Boston Globe.

But judges disagree with that argument and seven separate judges have ordered that gun licenses in their jurisdictions be reinstated. One of those judges—Michael D. Brennan, who was appointed by Baker—went so far as to call the revocation of one citizen’s license “erroneous, arbitrary and capricious.”

Most of the cases involve people who have been convicted of nonviolent misdemeanor offenses who had subsequently successfully petitioned for the right to own a gun. One case, for example, concerns a man who once pleaded guilty to receiving $100 worth of stolen goods. Twenty years after the plea, he fought to restore his Second Amendment rights and won the case. Earlier this year, the state confiscated his guns.

No one from the ATF was cited in the article, which might well indicate that Baker is stretching things a bit.

But that’s beside the point. The fact of the matter is that this country’s government was set up to be divided into three branches that can serve as a system of checks and balances. A state executive can’t simply defy the courts because he wants to.

Latest

Joseph P. DeBergalis Jr.
Joseph P. DeBergalis Jr.

NRA 2023 Year In Review

None of this would be possible without the enduring support of NRA members.

A Fact Check of Gov. Newsom and Gov. DeSantis on Crime and Guns

To paraphrase the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan they are entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts.

Montana’s AG Explains Why NRA v. Vullo is a Critical Supreme Court Case

“Government should not be able to come in and act like the mafia,” says Montana Attorney General Knudsen.

The Armed Citizen® December 1, 2023

True stories of the right to keep and bear arms.

A Gun-Control Amendment?

Gavin Newsom is openly trying to amend the U.S. Constitution to include what he calls “common-sense” gun-control regulations. It seems he doesn’t understand what’s already plainly written in the Constitution.



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.