Back-To-Back Dismissals Highlight Issues With Massachusetts Gun Prosecutions

There’s good news to report out of Massachusetts, where two cases that Bearing Arms has been following have now seen charges dismissed and gun owners vindicated. 

We’ve spoken with attorney Dan Hagan about these cases on Bearing Arms’ Cam & Company over the past few months, and they have to be among the most egregious examples of the state’s gun laws entrapping lawful citizens. 

One of the cases involved a woman named Danisha Harris, who’s a resident of South Carolina. While driving through the state on her way to New Hampshire for her job, she was pulled over for a traffic stop. There were issues with the vehicle’s registration, which led to officers towing it away. As they were taking inventory of the items in the car, they discovered two handguns, including one in a bag that police say was under Harris’s direct control. 

As Hagan explained, under Under Massachusetts law (MGL c. 140 § 129C) it is legal for a non-resident to carry a firearm on their person while lawfully traveling through the Commonwealth. Hagan filed a motion to dismiss arguing that Harris had been improperly charged but even if she were to be “properly” charged, she falls under the exception that Ch. 135 put into the law. The judge agreed, and Harris no longer has felony charges hanging over her head. 

The second case involved an active duty airman with a Massachusetts license to carry who was also pulled over after a “random” license plate check. He ended up facing charges of possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of a “large-capacity” feeding device. Hagan’s motion to dismiss argued that the airman had been stopped without probable cause, but perhaps even more importantly, firearms do not need to be registered in the Commonwealth until next month. Yes, someone was actually charged with violating a law that’s not even in effect. 

This case being dismissed prior to arraignment means that it will never hit his record or impact his military career or his ability to retain his LTC. 

“This young service member never should have been pulled over, let alone have his entire future threatened,” said Jim Wallace Executive Director of GOAL. “Both law enforcement and the prosecutors involved owe him much more than an apology. What we are witnessing with these cases is either an enormous amount of ignorance or malice. Neither is acceptable.”

“GOAL really saved this kid,” said Dan Hagan, Robertson’s attorney. “Without their support it is likely he would have ended up with a plea deal or conviction that would have ruined his life.”

As Wallace says, in Massachusetts the punishment is the process, and lawful gun owners have repeatedly been subjected to bogus felony charges simply for exercising their Second Amendment rights. 

Meanwhile, you’ve got guys who are responsible for life-threatening beatdowns who are walking away with little or no jail time. 

There’s a chance to put the state on a saner footing this November if the “No on 9” campaign is successful at repealing Chapter 135 and its abuses. The laws that fall under Chapter 135 are apparently so confusing that law enforcement can’t figure them out… or as Wallace suggests, are written so vaguely that they can be used maliciously by police and prosecutors who have an axe to grind against anyone exercising their Second Amendment rights. 

Either way, repealing Chapter 135 is the way to go, and I encourage gun owners to support The Civil Rights Coalition’s “No on 9” campaign if you can. 

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their extreme gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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