This is Perhaps the Strangest Gun Law to Ever Go into Effect The town of Lowell, MA is garnering a tremendous amount of attention. Recently, the City Council passed new laws for those seeking a permit to carry a firearm.
Now, applicants wishing to obtain a permit for unrestricted handgun carry must submit an essay and pay for additional training (above what is already required by Massachusetts state law) to the tune of roughly $1,100.00.
The driving force behind the new laws, Police Superintendent William Taylor, has sole discretion over approval of the submitted essays.
“It is absurd that people should have to write an essay to the town to explain why they should be able to exercise their constitutional rights,” said Jim Wallace, executive director of Gun Owners Action League of Massachusetts. “We already have a very strict set of gun laws in the state, but this is way over the top.”
Lowell residents voiced strong opinions on the news laws in a recent public hearing. Many feel that these new laws are over the top, in a state that already has a stringent process for obtaining a carry permit. A spokesman for the police department stated that calling the written submission requirement an essay is incorrect, pointing out that it is merely providing documentation stating why the applicant feels the need to carry.
Sounds more than a bit unconstitutional to me, but apparently there are many in Massachusetts who are content to sign away their rights. Keep your powder dry, America.
Poster Comment:
The City of Lowell just bought itself a big and expensive problem since there is sure to be a constitutional challenge to this idiocy.