“May Issue” Is Also “May Not Issue”

Commenter, bloggershoot and blogdinner attendee, good friend, and all around mensch brad_in_ma just got his MA LTC. He was kind enough to share the process with me (with names and such redacted as necessary. Here's his journey through the process by which one acquires one's license to carry in Massachusetts:

Below is a play by play of my saga, starting with the safety course on 3/19.

3/19/2011 - safety course

3/26/2011 - license app dropped at [town name redacted] police station for [name redacted] licensing officer

4/12/2011 - appt. Application entered into "the system." [name redacted] licensing officer said to allow about 3 to 4 weeks.

4/15/2011 - check cleared

5/05/2011 - Cinco de Mayo - more than three weeks . . . waiting sucks worse

5/10/2011 - Four weeks to the day. No word yet. Patience wearing thin.

5/12/2011 - called, left msg for [name redacted] licensing officer

5/17/2011 - Five weeks to the day. Called. Was told six to eight weeks. Ugh.

5/22/2011 - 40-day limit on issuance or denial. P.R.of.MA in violation of its own laws.

5/24/2011 - six (6) weeks to the day. MA sucks.

5/31/2011 - seven (7) weeks to the day. MA sucks sweaty, flea infested camel scrotums.

6/06/2011 - License has arrived.

Now, that's some 73 days from the time he turned in his application until he received his MA LTC. That's nearly double the amount of time it is supposed to take by law - except, of course, that there are no penalties for the town breaking the law. Imagine what our streets would look like if there were no penalties for running red lights and stop signs?

Here's the rub: While brad would have had recourse had his license been outright denied, he would have had little options had the licensing officer downgraded his Class A license request to a Class B. Sure, if he wanted to spend tens of thousands of dollars in litigation fees he *might* get a restricted Class A, but that's an uphill battle in MA. Even worse, he could have received a restricted Class A, issued such that concealed carry is not permitted under the confines of that license.

And this all happened in a small(ish) town with a pretty reasonable licensing structure - he did in fact receive an unrestricted license at the end, and as such right now is in a better position than a great deal of the country. Because of the draconian laws on gun owners and the miniscule percentage of the population that owns guns, MA hasn't put thought into "binding signage" or "51%" or "no carry in bars" nonsense that some other states have. Some places ({cough}Boston{cough}) flat-out will not issue an unrestricted permit to the average Joe; imagine waiting 73 days (or Bruce's 106) to find out that your rights are significantly curtailed.

And that's the thing. With "May Issue", that's entirely possible. With the system as it stands in Massachusetts, New York, California, etc., your enumerated right to keep and bear arms is at the whim of some petty bureaucrat. For any reason whatsoever - they don't like how you voted in the last election, your second cousin once removed turned them down for the prom, you live on the wrong side of town, or you're the wrong color/race/ethnicity/gender - you're SOL. "Shall Issue" - meet these requirements, get your license - removes the human factor in getting that permit.

Of course, it also doesn't allow for controlling the proles, so in these enclaves it will be an uphill fight...

That is all.