Carrying a Firearm Without a License in Massachusetts: The 18-Month Minimum, Loaded and Repeat Charges, and Your Defenses

Police found a gun on you, in your bag, or in a car you were in, away from your home or business, and you don’t have a Massachusetts license to carry. That is the charge under G.L. c. 269, § 10(a), still widely called “carrying a firearm.” It is a felony with an 18-month mandatory minimum, and it is one of the most serious charges a Massachusetts district court hears. Here is what the Commonwealth has to prove, the penalties (including subsequent offenses and the loaded-firearm add-on), and where a defense comes from.

What § 10(a) Covers

Section 10(a) punishes anyone who, “except as provided or exempted by statute,” knowingly has a firearm in their possession, or knowingly has one “under his control in a vehicle,” loaded or unloaded, unless one of the statute’s listed conditions applies. For a firearm, those conditions are: being present in or on your residence or place of business; holding a license to carry under G.L. c. 140, § 131 or § 131F; complying with the exemptions in c. 140, §§ 129C and 131G; or, for an air rifle or BB gun, complying with c. 269, § 12B.

Rifles and shotguns follow a slightly different list. For them, a firearm identification card under c. 140, § 129B also counts, along with a license to carry and the § 129C exemptions.

The model jury instruction notes that the word “carrying” was removed from the statute in 1990 and replaced with possession, so the Commonwealth does not have to prove the gun was moved.

What Counts as a Firearm

Section 10(o) adopts the definitions in G.L. c. 140, § 121, which the 2024 gun law (St. 2024, c. 135) rewrote. A “firearm” now means “a stun gun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, sawed-off shotgun, large capacity firearm, assault-style firearm and machine gun, loaded or unloaded, which is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a shot or bullet,” and also “the frame or receiver” of such a gun and an “unfinished frame or receiver.” Antique firearms and permanently inoperable firearms are excluded.

What the Commonwealth Must Prove

Under the District Court model jury instruction for § 10(a) (Instruction 7.600), the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:

• You possessed an item, or had it under your control in a vehicle. Being present near a gun, even knowing it is there, is not enough. For constructive possession, the Commonwealth must prove knowledge plus the ability and the intent to control it.
• The item met the legal definition of a firearm, rifle, or shotgun.
• You knew you possessed it (or had it under your control in the vehicle), and knew it was a firearm in the common meaning of the word.
• You did not have a valid license: a license to carry for a firearm, or a firearm identification card or license to carry for a rifle or shotgun.
• If there is evidence you were at home or at your business, that you were outside it. If there is evidence you were exempt under c. 140, § 129C, that you did not qualify.

Two points from the instruction matter in many cases. A residence or place of business covers only areas under your exclusive control, not common hallways, shared lots, sidewalks, or streets. And a gun stored in a car counts as being at your residence only if the car is on your residence. The Commonwealth must prove the license element. Under Commonwealth v. Guardado, 491 Mass. 666 (2023), the absence of a license is an element, not something you have to prove.

Penalties

• First offense: 2½ to 5 years in state prison, or 18 months to 2½ years in a jail or house of correction.
• Mandatory minimum: the sentence cannot be reduced below 18 months or suspended. There is no probation, parole, work release, furlough, or good-conduct deduction until 18 months are served.
• No CWOF, no filing: “Prosecutions commenced under this subsection shall neither be continued without a finding nor placed on file.”
• Felony: because it can be punished by state prison, § 10(a) is a felony under G.L. c. 274, § 1.

Subsequent Offenses Under § 10(d)

A person previously convicted under § 10(a), (b), or (c) who commits another of those offenses faces state prison of 5 to 7 years for a second offense, 7 to 10 years for a third, and 10 to 15 years for a fourth. For a repeat of the same or a like offense, the sentence cannot be suspended, and there is no probation or good-conduct deduction.

A Loaded Firearm Under § 10(n)

If the § 10(a) violation involved a loaded firearm, § 10(n) adds up to 2½ more years in the house of correction, to begin after the § 10(a) sentence ends. “Loaded” means ammunition is in the weapon or in a feeding device attached to it (§ 10(o)). The model instruction notes that a § 10(n) conviction requires a § 10(a) conviction, and that the add-on does not apply to § 10(h) or to a loaded rifle or shotgun.

Exemptions Under § 129C

Since the 2024 gun law, G.L. c. 140, § 129C lists the situations in which a person may possess a firearm without a license, permit, or card. They include, for example: new residents and residents returning after at least 180 days away, for 60 days, as to guns they already had; heirs, for up to 60 days; supervised use for examination, trial, or instruction; on-duty military and police officers; and nonresidents in limited situations, including carrying a firearm while lawfully traveling through Massachusetts in a vehicle, with the gun staying in the vehicle and stored under § 131C when not in the owner’s direct control.

The model instruction also recognizes federal protection for transporting a firearm through Massachusetts when you can lawfully have it at both ends of the trip, the gun is unloaded, and neither the gun nor ammunition is readily accessible (18 U.S.C. § 926A).

If Your License Has Expired

An expired license to carry or FID card is not always the same as no license. Under G.L. c. 140, § 121F(s), it “shall remain valid for all lawful purposes” if you applied for renewal before it expired (until the renewal is decided), if you were on active military duty on the expiration date (until at least 180 days after release), or if no more than 90 days have passed since it expired, unless it was revoked or suspended.

Beyond that, under § 121F(t), if the license or card is invalid only because it expired and you are not otherwise disqualified from renewal, the penalty is a fine of $100 to $5,000, and “section 10 of chapter 269 shall not apply.” That protection does not cover a license or card that was revoked or suspended, faces pending revocation or suspension (in either case, unless only for failing to report an address change), or whose renewal was denied. It also does not apply to temporary licenses under § 131F.

Carrying Under § 10(a) vs. Possession Under § 10(h)

The line between the two is location. Section 10(a) covers a gun away from your home or business, or in a vehicle. Possession of a firearm under § 10(h) covers having a gun or ammunition without complying with § 129C, which usually arises at home or work. The consequences are far apart. Section 10(h)(1) is a misdemeanor with up to 2 years in a house of correction or a fine, no mandatory minimum, and no bar on a CWOF. Section 10(a) is a felony with an 18-month minimum. Whether you were in an area under your exclusive control can decide which statute applies.

Defenses

• No knowing possession or control. Presence in a car or room where a gun is found is not enough without proof of knowledge, ability, and intent to control.
• You were licensed. The Commonwealth must prove you had no valid license (or, for a rifle or shotgun, no FID card either).
• The license had only expired. Section 121F(s) may make it still valid, and § 121F(t) may replace the § 10 charge with a fine.
• Home or business. If you were in an area under your exclusive control, the Commonwealth must prove otherwise; at most § 10(h) may fit.
• An exemption applies. If there is evidence of a § 129C exemption or lawful interstate transport, the Commonwealth must disprove it.
• Not a firearm. A weapon too damaged to fire is not a firearm, though one that a slight repair would make work still is (Instruction 7.600). Antique and permanently inoperable firearms are excluded by § 121.
• An unlawful stop or search. If the gun was found after an illegal stop, frisk, or search, a motion to suppress may keep it out of evidence.

Why a Lawyer Matters

A § 10(a) conviction carries 18 months that a judge cannot suspend, and the case cannot be resolved with a continuance without a finding or a filing. The questions that decide these cases are specific: whose car it was, who could reach the gun, whether the spot was under your exclusive control, what license you held and when it expired, and whether the stop and search were lawful. The Law Office of William J. Barabino in Medford has over 23 years of experience defending Massachusetts gun charges throughout Greater Boston. Call 781-393-5900 to talk about your case.

Related Charges

• Possession of a firearm (G.L. c. 269, § 10(h)): a gun or ammunition without complying with § 129C, usually at home or work; a misdemeanor.
• Large capacity feeding devices (G.L. c. 140, § 131M; c. 269, § 10(m)): high-capacity magazines, a separate felony charge.
• Firearm while committing a felony (G.L. c. 265, § 18B): a gun during a felony, with its own mandatory minimum.
• Armed career criminal (G.L. c. 269, § 10G): enhanced sentences for gun charges after certain prior convictions.
• Improper storage of a firearm (G.L. c. 140, § 131L): a gun not secured as the law requires, even when lawfully owned.

Disclaimer

This article is for general educational information about Massachusetts criminal law. It is not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change. For advice about a specific case, speak with a licensed Massachusetts attorney.