Governor Deval Patrick, in a move to ensure that his state ends up being the perfect test case to challenge the constitutionality of licensing the second amendment, is looking at increasing fees on gun licenses to more than double the current rate.
Keep in mind that Governor Patrick is also a close friend of one Barack Wouldn’t You Like to Be a Pepper Too Obama. It would be interesting to hear whether Obama’s newly found enthusiasm for the second amendment extends to opposing taxing the individual right to death, as has been done through licensing in Massachusetts.
Also, not to escape blame in all this, is Governor Mitt Romney, who invented the idea of extorting money from citizens in order that they may exercise constitutional rights. But by all means Massachusetts, keep it up, you’re just making our eventual court challenge against licensing that much easier.
Romney hardly “invented the idea of extorting money from citizens” in Massachusetts. That principle was carved in stove years before he showed up down there. He did sign the 300% gun license fee hike into law though.
Perhaps, “perfected” would be a better verb there.
As I wrote at NLB:
Keep in mind, despite the verbiage above, this is not about obtaining a license to carry a concealed weapon, per se. This is a license to OWN a gun. If this law passes, it will cost the citizens of Massachusetts $200 to ask permission of the State to exercise their Constitutionally-protected right to keep a handgun in their homes.
If the applicant is denied (something the Chief of Police in his or her town can do for pretty much any reason he can dream up), the state gets to keep the 200 bucks.
[…]
And, because it bears repeating, don’t forget that the people behind these outrageous fee hikes are the same “progressives” who will brand you a fascist if you suggest that people should be required to show a photo ID in order to cast a vote.
“What? That’s the equivalent of a poll tax. You can’t charge people to exercise a Constitutional right! That’s racist! We must respect the rights of the poor!”
“Section 26 would increase a resident License to Carry fee from $100 for six years to $200 for six years and Section 27 would increase a non-resident License to Carry fee from $100 for one year to $250 for one year. ”
Does Massachusetts even have a right to carry? Or is this right only reserved for guys named Kerry or Kennedy? The NRA should have residents flood the state for right to carry licenses with this latest insult.
ATL
Uh, Bruce, Mitt the Shit proposed and signed the 400% fee hike. Remember, it went from $25 to $100.
Signed,
A. BitterBitchWhoHadToPay $100
Mitt who will be McQueeg’s running mate.
Sic transit the ballot box.
Bitter, I realize that. Perhaps we can agree on the phrase “as much the champion of extorting money from citizens as his Democrat counterparts”. I don’t want anyone to think I’m any kind of Mitt cheerleader here.
The worse part was when he defending his fee hikes during the presidential campaign by saying the fees went up commensurate with the cost of providing the various services. A blatant lie.
Mitt continued the proud Massachusetts tradition of fleecing the people. He hardly invented it though.
And, not to pick any more nits, but a $75 increase from $25 to $100 is a 300% increase. You want to talk about fee hikes, talk to the people who got the $2.00 “good for life” FID cards back in the 70’s only to be told alter they’d had to renew them for $25 (+1150%).
By instituting exorbitant fees, they ARE infringing on our Second Amendment Rights. Those who can’t afford that fee will suffer the greatest. These treasonous politicians need to be run out of the country.
“But by all means Massachusetts, keep it up, you’re just making our eventual court challenge against licensing that much easier.”
I’ll be making several calls today in hopes to be heard. Still I shudder to think of what crap I’ll have to endure before the courts shut down the Rights-Squashing “Progressives”.
There is ONE advantage, it verywell might get my wife (who’s taken the training course and everything) to get her butt rolling on getting her permit.
Definitely call. It’s better to stop this stuff legislatively than take a gamble in the courts. But you do have to wonder about politicians who are just making the court challenge easier.
Illinois has had the Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) for as long as I can remember (at 25, I have always had to have, even when I couldn’t purchase firearms or ammunition). The cost wasn’t terrible at $5/5 years, and now it is $10/10 years. But all it is is a gun owners registration.
And now, the Illinois State Police have actually been making law-abiding citizens criminals. The FOID card is issued by the State Police, and the law that created the program required the them to respond with either your card or denial within 30 days, and it is printed on the application. But over the last few years the Governor has cut the funding for the program and they have failed to hold up their part of the law. There are loads of cases where IL gun owners have applied to renew their card within plenty of time from when their current card expires and the new card doesn’t arrive within the 30 days the law requires and their current card expires, thus making these law abiding citizens criminals for nothing they did but trying to comply with the law.
My current card expires on September 1st. I mailed my new application at the end of June, sending it Certified Mail with Return Receipt. I have the slip with date on it for the day the State Police received the application. If I don’t have my card in 30 days, I am going to start making calls.
“Does Massachusetts even have a right to carry? Or is this right only reserved for guys named Kerry or Kennedy? The NRA should have residents flood the state for right to carry licenses with this latest insult.”
Whether you can carry in MA depends on which town you live in. Here’s the simplified version of MA licensing: All license types are good for 6 years and cost $100. FID is shall issue and allows you to own non-large capacity rifles and shotguns. LTC-B is may issue (discretion of police chief in your town of residence), and it allows you to own rifles and shotguns of any capacity and non-large capacity handguns. LTC-A allows you to own anything that’s legal in the state.
There are two broad types of LTC-A: an unrestricted (formerly known as All Lawful Purposes) which allows concealed carry, or restricted which means whatever the chief says it means. Generally a restricted LTC-A effectively lets you do anything but concealed carry.
At the northeastshooters.com forum, we’ve basically broken down the towns into green (issues unrestricted LTC-As to all qualified applicants), red (generally issues restricted As to all comers and unrestricted to the politically connected and/or those who lawyer up), or black (denies all LTC As, some issue class Bs, some won’t even do that).
Boston and almost all of the inner ring suburbs are red. Other cities like Worcester, Lawrence, and Lowell are red. There are a few blacks and reds scattered around the rest of the state, but most is green.