Another piece of legal idiocy I've learned of from the state where having a round of spent .22 brass stuck in the treads of your Reebok is a felony: Suppose you're shooting at the local indoor range, and the guy on the next lane over mutters a curse and then leans over towards your booth, saying "Hey, buddy, I'm all out of ammunition over here; I'll give ya five bucks if ya got an extra box of .22 ya can spare." What do you do?
Well, according to Title XX, Chapter 140, Sec. 122B of Massachusetts state law, you have to say "Tough luck, buddy; I don't want to go to jail for two years for engaging in a voluntary act of capitalism between two consenting adults."
Massachusetts: Live Free or There.
(via Twitter.)
Uncle Ted's Utopia
ReplyDeleteWell, crap, now I'm curious. If that was #140,122, what was #1?
ReplyDeleteWhat if you agree to loan him a box of amo, and he allows you to hold in colatrial the the value of in money of said box of amo; where in writing, if he does not return to in one weeks time you get to keep said colatrial would this pass muster in MA?
ReplyDeleteJust a thought,
Josh
Just a good reason never to evenn visit Massachusetts
ReplyDeleteI so love Virginia.
ReplyDeleteNote: My word verification image was "everso"!
Anon 8:01,
ReplyDeleteCan y'all CCW in Applebee's yet?
Wait, I missed the part about the spent .22 brass in the tread of your Reebok.
ReplyDeleteWV. gincil - a catamite who carries a flask of gin in his pocket.
see gunsel
Joshkie: Unlicensed pawnbrokering plus usury...that's a double-dog felony right there even in America, let alone Mass...
ReplyDeleteAT
Massachusetts: Live Free or There.
ReplyDeleteExcellent. Quotable.
That's Bruce (Now NH State Rep Bruce)'s line.
ReplyDeleteMy personal favorite, and one I use from time to time, is "Massachusetts: The birthplace, and graveyard, of liberty".
That whole ammo thing is why most online retailers will not ship ammunition into MA.
I shoot up there in the occasional match, and travel through it to hunt in Vermont and New Hampshire. Thinking of joining Springfield Sportsman's Association so I can shoot 300 yards/meters.
ReplyDeleteI'm always careful to keep all firearms in a locked case in the wayback (SUV's don't have a trunk), ammo in the glove box or in a locked can up front, Connecticut pistol permit handy for when I'm shooting at Smith & Wesson, VT or NH hunting license if I'm headed north to make meat, and a printout of my online invitation to a high power match if I'm shooting in Mass.
If all the above doesn't work when I'm cornered by some ignorant Town Clown in monkey suit, I have two Springfield cops and a Mass State trooper on speed dial.
It's a lot of work and worry, but they have some really great clubs up there, and once you're inside the fence, the facilities and people are wonderful.
I find it odd. The more onerous the restrictions, the higher caliber (sorry) the people who put up with the nonsense and annoyance, and the better the time.
The saddest thing of all is that the entire western part of Massachusetts is hardcore conservative, and, other than Springfield, all small rural mountain towns filled with some of the best people around. The Massholes don't start until you cross the Connecticut river.
Actually, they don't start until you're within commuting distance of Boston, say around the outskirts of Worcester. From at least the Quabbin Resevoir west it's Appalachia with nice houses, good dentition, and no UMW.
In a perfect world, everything north of the Connecticut line and west of the Connecticut river would be Vermont, and New Hampshire would control central Mass. Then we could dig a ditch around Boston Metro and, to misquote Billy Joel, send a carrier up from Norfolk and sink the place out at sea.
Anon -
ReplyDeleteSo what your say is I need the governments permision to inter into a legal contract between two adult parties involving my own property....
I'm surprised I don't need to fillout paper work to see if it's OK to whipe my a**.
:-(
Josh
Sorry that was for AT.
ReplyDeleteJosh
"Can y'all CCW in Applebee's yet?
ReplyDeleteYup. That passed last year (finally), and took effect July 1, 2010.
Now we're working (quietly, it looks like) on Constitutional carry. Right now, it looks like it's probably going back to the subcommittee for corrections and improvements.
Jake,
ReplyDeleteRock on! 8)
It would be interesting to come up with a list of the things that adults in Massachusetts can't sell without State permission, and arrange them to tell a story.
ReplyDeleteLike- loan services, lottery tickets, bullets, embalming.
I swear on the ghost of Sir Joseph Whitworth, my captcha is
TEDIFI
I think I'll stay here, at least until I can afford to move south.
ReplyDeleteIt's for the children don't you know - the ones running the MA legislature.
ReplyDeleteIt's honestly a catch-22 here - they're clearly anti-gun, but they're too dumb to really have the effect they intend to have, and the laws are so vague that a lot aren't really enforceable if push comes to shove.
The part about the .22 spent brass is this - in MA, spent casings are considered "ammunition components", and thus are treated as if they were ammunition. Possession of ammunition without at least an FID card is a felony, but you can shoot at a range under the "guidance" of another license holder. Thus, you're legal at the range, but once you're no longer under their guidance that .22LR casing becomes considered ammunition without a license.
Too bad our hired critters aren't equally regulated and controlled.
ReplyDeleteThat noise you just heard is my sigh of relief for getting the heck out of there.
ReplyDeleteSubtlety and nuance, isn't that what liberal like to brag about?
+1 Anon 12:45.
ReplyDeleteIn MA, unlike Florida, it was legal to open carry and legal to carry in bars.
Of course, you had to pray like hell to get your license in the first place, and anyone open carrying in public would have gotten a quick face-to-face intro to Mr. Cement.
On the plus side, all these laws have made Massachusetts completely free of firearms-related criminal activity, right?
ReplyDeleteRight?
At least significantly lower than other areas?
Gotta double down, then.
Open carry is legal in California, and it's just about the only way you can carry without a Sheriff -pal-buddy-campaign donor in your pocket - unless you live in the CA-Outback then it's common.
ReplyDeleteAnd we stopped the ammo bill that would have MAssed us up.
Joshkie said:
ReplyDelete"So what your say is I need the governments permision to..."
You've never owned/managed a small business, have you Josh?
AT
AT -
ReplyDeleteNot my fault you took my rhetorical question as an actual question. Not my fault that the left and some progressive judges have taken the comerces & general welfare clause to mean something that was not intended by our founding fathers. Just because the federal and local governments regulate the shit out of us doesn't mean they should or have the right to do so under the Constitution.
My question and statement was not to ask does it happen, but to point out it should not happen.
Point I'm about to make is you want to know why China and others are kicking our ass right now in business it is because they do not have to deal with half the BS American business does.
I'm just a lowly security guard that doesn't have to deal with the mess that is the current US business seen.
Josh
Yes Josh, I understand your question was rhetorical, if a bit innocent. Which is why my response also was rhetorical, and irritable, and sad.
ReplyDeleteAny who have attempted to navigate the minefield of private business, which often seems specifically intended to limit or eliminate free capitalist activity, recognizes that the onerous, almost unbelievable infringement on personal freedoms in Mass is a microcosmic glimpse into all of our futures, if *some* have their way.
No criticism of you personally, Josh...just using your innocent questions as to freedom, logic, and reason to point out that all three are in serious jeopardy for us all.
AT
AT -
ReplyDeleteWhich was my point in asking the question, so mission accomplished. The last post hit me wrong I guess. No hard feeling.
:-)
Josh
Check out Chapter 123 and see the crazyness I deal with all day long, eg Section 8a.
ReplyDelete