On Fri, 2 Oct 2015 20:44:31 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/2/2015 7:28 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 2 Oct 2015 18:41:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

None of this is a big deal nor is it difficult or expensive.

===

If you don't mind living in an over regulated police state.

Personally I'd rather take my chances with a rare/occasional bad guy
than need a permit every time I turn around. In my opinion we are
already over regulated, especially in the north eastern population
centers where most of this springs from.



There is plenty of over regulation that I find annoying or frustrating
... the ban of some popular handguns up here due to the attorney general
and the safety testing labs confusing "certification" process is a good
example ...but getting a permit to legally own a firearm isn't one of my
beefs. It's really a simple process and as long as you are not a
convicted felon your application is generally approved. There's a bit
of a safety net for the public in the process though. It's up to the
local police chief to give final approval and to include any
restrictions. Handgun permits in MA is a "may" issue rather than a
"shall" issue. If an applicant is known by the police department to
have a history of violence, drug or alcohol abuse or other problems that
may not have lead to an arrest or conviction, the permit may be
disapproved. At least it can weed out some who probably shouldn't own
a gun.

===

All of that is a royal PITA and puts you at the whim of a local law
enforcement officer who may or may not be a reasonable person. If you
get a hard liner in your local PD who'd rather not be bothered by the
whole process, and/or wants to err only on the side of safety, they
might just refuse to issue any permits. It puts the cops into the
role of social scientists which they are ill suited for and opens up
the very real possibility for cronyism and corruption.