Amendment #241 to H3400

Safe Storage

Mr. Murphy of Lowell moves to amend the bill adding the following section:

"SECTION XX.  SECTION 1.  Section 131L of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition,  is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(a)     (1) It shall be unlawful to store or keep any firearm, rifle or shotgun including, but not limited to, large capacity weapons, or machine gun in any place unless such weapon is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such weapon inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. For purposes of this section, such weapon shall not be deemed stored or kept if carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user.

(2) It shall be unlawful to store more than 20 firearms, rifles, shotguns, machine guns, or any combination of such weapons unless such weapons are secured in a locked safe or vault.  It shall be unlawful to store more than 40 firearms, rifles, shotguns, machine guns, or any combination of such weapons unless such weapons are secured in a locked safe vault and the area of the building in which such safe or vault is located is equipped with an intrusion alarm system with monitoring.  For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “safe or vault” shall mean a fireproof container, with a combination or key locking mechanism designed to prevent entry by unauthorized persons.

(3) When an individual applies to secure or renew a firearm(s) license the individual shall list on the application how many firearms are stored and in what type of container.

Any person who violates this paragraph shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 10 years or by a fine of not less than $7,500,nor more than $15,000 or by both such imprisonment and fine.

(4) The secretary of the executive office of public safety may prescribe commercially available containers which meet the definition of “safe or vault” set forth in paragraph (2).

SECTION 2. Subsection (b) of said section 131L of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after the word “violation” in line 10, the following words: - paragraph (1) of subsection (a)

SECTION 3. Subsection (c) of said section 131L of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after the word “violation” in line 17, the following words: - paragraph (1) of subsection (a)

SECTION 4. Subsection (d) of said section 131L of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after the word “violation” in line 25, the following words: - paragraph (1) of subsection (a)”