This from the Boston Globe (11-2-99)
AG seeks to pull most gun dealer licenses
By Meg Vaillancourt, Globe Staff, 11/02/99
ttorney General Thomas F. Reilly yesterday instructed police chiefs
across the state to revoke the licenses of most gun dealers to enforce
a state law banning home-based dealerships.
The instructions, included in a two-page letter sent to the chiefs, clarify a
1998 law banning the sale of guns from private homes. Of the 966 licensed
gun dealers in the Bay State, more than 700 were licensed home-based
dealers, state officials estimated.
Warning that dealers who operate out of their garages, basements, or
home-based offices ''are not an acceptable alternative'' to an illegal home
base, Reilly instructed police chiefs to review all state gun licenses issued by
their departments and to revoke permits made invalid by the new law.
''The Legislature provided no exception to the law,'' Reilly wrote.
Because so many gun dealers operate out of their homes, the law comes
close to promulgating a total ban on the sale of handguns in Massachusetts,
opponents said.
''It's irrelevant whether guns are sold in a fancy building that cost $2 million
or a separate space attached to the house, because all the state and federal
regulations still apply,'' said Mike Yacino of the Gun Owners Action League.
A strict gun control law passed by Massachusetts lawmakers last year
banned the sale of guns by home dealers as of Sept. 1. Citing confusion
about the language imposing the ban, many local law enforcement officials
have been reluctant to enforce it.
The bill, signed into law last July, states that all licensed firearms dealers
''shall maintain a permanent place of business that is not a residence or
dwelling'' where they can sell their guns.
However, gun groups are urging state legislators to amend the law even as
they work to overturn it in court. Opponents note, for example, that licensed
gunsmiths, who repair but do not sell weapons from their home, will be
forced to find new office space.
Critics also argue that dealers who sell from the same address as their home,
but have separate area where they conduct their business, should be allowed
to continue selling weapons as long as they are properly licensed and comply
with local zoning codes.
Massachusetts gun control advocates argue that forcing dealers to sell
weapons in commercial areas rather than from their homes makes law
enforcement easier.
''I'm a business person and a gun owner, and my interest is not in banning all
guns,'' said John Rosenthal, founder of Stop Handgun Violence, the
Newton-based group that championed the state's strict gun control measure
last year. ''The point is when you live in a residential neighborhood, you want
to be insulated from potentially dangerous businesses. And that's what this
law does.''
This story ran on page B02 of the Boston Globe on 11/02/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
AG seeks to pull most gun dealer licenses
By Meg Vaillancourt, Globe Staff, 11/02/99
ttorney General Thomas F. Reilly yesterday instructed police chiefs
across the state to revoke the licenses of most gun dealers to enforce
a state law banning home-based dealerships.
The instructions, included in a two-page letter sent to the chiefs, clarify a
1998 law banning the sale of guns from private homes. Of the 966 licensed
gun dealers in the Bay State, more than 700 were licensed home-based
dealers, state officials estimated.
Warning that dealers who operate out of their garages, basements, or
home-based offices ''are not an acceptable alternative'' to an illegal home
base, Reilly instructed police chiefs to review all state gun licenses issued by
their departments and to revoke permits made invalid by the new law.
''The Legislature provided no exception to the law,'' Reilly wrote.
Because so many gun dealers operate out of their homes, the law comes
close to promulgating a total ban on the sale of handguns in Massachusetts,
opponents said.
''It's irrelevant whether guns are sold in a fancy building that cost $2 million
or a separate space attached to the house, because all the state and federal
regulations still apply,'' said Mike Yacino of the Gun Owners Action League.
A strict gun control law passed by Massachusetts lawmakers last year
banned the sale of guns by home dealers as of Sept. 1. Citing confusion
about the language imposing the ban, many local law enforcement officials
have been reluctant to enforce it.
The bill, signed into law last July, states that all licensed firearms dealers
''shall maintain a permanent place of business that is not a residence or
dwelling'' where they can sell their guns.
However, gun groups are urging state legislators to amend the law even as
they work to overturn it in court. Opponents note, for example, that licensed
gunsmiths, who repair but do not sell weapons from their home, will be
forced to find new office space.
Critics also argue that dealers who sell from the same address as their home,
but have separate area where they conduct their business, should be allowed
to continue selling weapons as long as they are properly licensed and comply
with local zoning codes.
Massachusetts gun control advocates argue that forcing dealers to sell
weapons in commercial areas rather than from their homes makes law
enforcement easier.
''I'm a business person and a gun owner, and my interest is not in banning all
guns,'' said John Rosenthal, founder of Stop Handgun Violence, the
Newton-based group that championed the state's strict gun control measure
last year. ''The point is when you live in a residential neighborhood, you want
to be insulated from potentially dangerous businesses. And that's what this
law does.''
This story ran on page B02 of the Boston Globe on 11/02/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
