Can I Give a Firearm as a Gift?
This segment is in response to a subscribers inquiry.
Before you run out to buy a firearm at a discount trading post, or dust off one in your collection, to gift wrap it for your niece or nephew’s birthday, there are some very important steps you must follow!
The first question which must be asked is whether the firearm is Pre-1898 antique firearm.
The second question is whether the recipient – be it a favored niece, nephew or even a great-granddaughter – is properly licensed.
You see, the law views this very important “gift” as a “transfer” of a firearm.
Massachusetts General Law c. 140, §§128A and 128B, requires all individuals who sell, transfer, or inherit a firearm to report the sale, transfer, inheritance, to the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services Firearms Records Bureau.
In Massachusetts this reporting can be online and completed electronically to the firearms records Bureau
In order to accomplish this online reporting you will need the following items:
1. A detailed description of the transferred weapon (serial number/make/model/caliber etc.);
2. The Seller/Transferor’s license information;
3. The Buyer/Transferee’s license information;
4. You should, for your own protection, require the recipient to produce a valid FID card or LTC and obtain a license validation certificate
However you are better protected by doing this transfer through a federally licensed firearms dealer. Most firearm retailers will do this type of transfer for a nominal fee. But the protection and peace of mind you receive far outweighs the cost.
It is a violation of federal law to purchase a firearm for another individual.
With respect to antique firearms you need to be aware that the burden is on the possessor of the firearm to prove that it was manufactured before 1900. Here, a federally licensed firearms dealer can be very instrumental in helping to determine the manufacturing date of the firearm..
“To properly raise a defense of antique firearm, a defendant “bears the burden of producing evidence of the affirmative defense that the firearm was manufactured before 1900.” Jefferson, 461 Mass. at 834, 965 N.E.2d 800” Commonwealth v. Byung-Jin Kang, 72 N.E.3d 560, 563 (Mass. App. Ct. 2017)
You also need to be aware that despite the fact that the exemption for an antique firearm generally allows you to keep it in your home and/or business, it still does not permit you to carry it in public.
As provided for by a Massachusetts 2002 Appeals Ct. Case:
Although § 121 was amended by St. 1998, c. 180, § 8, and St. 1999, c. 1, § 1, the limitation remains. As amended, § 121 succinctly provides, as here pertinent: “The provisions of section 122 to 129D, inclusive, and sections 131, 131A, 131B and 131E shall not apply to: (A) any firearm, rifle or shotgun manufactured in or prior to the year 1899. . . .”
In response to an inquiry from the Commissioner of Public Safety regarding the applicability of numerous firearm statutes to nonresidents coming into the Commonwealth with antique weapons for purposes of participating in various bicentennial celebrations, the Attorney General opined:
“[General Laws] c. 140, § 121 exempts certain weapons [hereinafter antique weapons] from regulation under G.L.c. 140, §§ 122-129D and §§ 131A, 131B, 131E, if they were manufactured before 1899 or are replicas of weapons manufactured prior to 1899 and if they meet the other specific requirements in section 121(A) or (B). The exemption allows antique firearms, rifles, or shotguns to be kept at home or in one’s place of business without any special permit, license or card being required. However, this exemption for purposes of possession or ownership of a firearm, shotgun or rifle does not satisfy the provisions of G.L.c. 269, § 10(a), which regulates the carrying of firearms, shotguns, rifles and . . . antique weapons. . . . Thus, G.L.c. 140, § 121(A) or (B) does not exempt antique weapons from all gun control regulation.” (Emphasis in original.) Commonwealth v. Bibby, 54 Mass. App. Ct. 158, 164 n.4 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002)
I hope this segment has helped to answer the subscriber’s inquiry, and provided sufficient information and education on the issue of gifting firearms within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As always, the goal here is to increase awareness and foster more knowledgeable and responsible Massachusetts gun owners.
One of the best protections of your second amendment rights is to be an educated, knowledgeable and responsible gun owner
DISCLAIMER: This and other segments posted on this website are offered for educational, informational and discussion purposes only and is not offered as legal advice. .