While Massachusetts residents are among the most put-upon Americans when it comes to having their Second Amendment rights infringed, that’s not keeping them from jumping through enough hoops to carry firearms for self-defense in the state.
Figures from the state’s Department of Criminal Justice Information Services show that nearly 25,000 new Class A firearms licenses—the most common license in the state that allows the holder to carry rifles, shotguns, handguns and also concealed handguns—were issued in 2015. That brought the total to nearly 350,000 licensees.
The growth in 2015 reflects a long-term trend in the state. The number of licenses has jumped by nearly 105,000, or 44 percent, over the last five years.
