Facing Illegal Possession of Firearms Charges? Call Eden Rafferty Today!
Gun ownership in Massachusetts is highly regulated. If you are charged with owning or using a loaded or unloaded firearm that you do not have a license for, you could face major problems in court. Massachusetts courts don’t take gun control issues lightly.
If you …
- Knowingly own an illegal loaded or unloaded gun
- Have an illegal loaded or unloaded gun in your car or truck
- Carry a loaded gun while drunk or high from drugs or alcohol
- Carry an unconcealed gun in public
… then you will probably face a mandatory minimum of 18 months in jail, and as much as 5 years in a state prison. Most folks agree that 18 months of jail time is far too much, so you don’t want to have any more than the minimum time applied to your sentence.
What Is Considered A Firearm?
Massachusetts law considers a firearm to be a revolver, pistol, or other type of weapon that can shoot a bullet or projectile. It can be loaded or unloaded, and the barrel has to be less than 18 inches. The term firearm does not include a weapon that is made to look like an object other than a gun, such as a pen or cigarette lighter. A firearm must also be detectable by an x-ray machine.
How Can A Lawyer Help Me With This?
As we said, Massachusetts law is very strict on gun control, but a skilled lawyer can help you with an illegal possession charge in a few ways:
- Motion to suppress evidence: If the firearm was seized in an illegal search, it can’t be used as evidence against you. If it was taken from your car or home–both places protected by the 4th amendment–there’s a good chance we can suppress the evidence.
- Arguing for lack of possession or knowledge: To be charged with illegal possession of a weapon, the prosecution team has to prove that you have knowledge, power, and control over a weapon. This can be tricky to prove and we can help make sure they are unable to prove this.
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