Massachusetts Gun Essay: Writing Component Added To Concealed Carry Permit Approval In Lowell

[beevul]

Massachusetts Gun Essay: Writing Component Added To Concealed Carry Permit Approval In Lowell

January 25, 2016

Tara Dodrill

A new Massachusetts gun permit essay rule has Second Amendment supporters seeing red. Gun owners in the state must now write an essay which will be “graded” for approval by the police chief before a carry permit can be issued. A hefty firearms training price tag up to $1,100 will also be levied against those attempting to exercise their right to bear arms in the city of Lowell.

Lowell, Massachusetts, is located about 35 miles north of Boston and is home to some 110,000 people. The gun essay law was the brainchild of Police Chief William Taylor and approved by the city council. Applicants for an “unrestricted” handgun permit have to detail in writing why they should be granted the Second Amendment credentials. Chief Bill Taylor has sole authority when it comes to deciding which gun permit essays make the grade.

Lowell resident Dan Gannon addressed the members of city council who passed the gun restriction unanimously. The gun control law is slated to take effect later this week.

“I will never write an essay to get my rights as an American citizen,” Gannon said.

“If you want a license to carry a firearm unrestricted wherever you want and whenever you want, the superintendent is just looking for some documentation as to why,” Captain Crowley said. “That is not unreasonable to most people.”

http://www.inquisitr.com/2738038/massachusetts-gun-essay-mandates-writing-component-to-concealed-carry-permit-approval-in-lowell/

I love that little bit of misrepresentation in the last paragraph above:

"unrestricted wherever you want and whenever you want"

Uh huh.

[pocoloco]

1. It wouldn't have to be a very long essay!

"the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed"!

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

10. I'd give you an "A".

[SecularMotion]

2. Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1172185674

[beevul]

3. Nope. Different source.

Plus theres nothing in YOUR link about an essay, that I saw.

Nice try.

[Duckhunter935]

7. I am sure the host here

Will moderate his group. It is not yours to moderate.

[jonno99]

4. Hmmm...where have we seen this before? Oh yes, the literacy test...

Between the 1890s to the 1960s, many state governments in the Southern United States administered literacy tests to prospective voters purportedly to test their literacy in order to vote. In practice, these tests were intended to disenfranchise racial minorities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test

[beevul]

5. They know exactly what they're doing.

A 1998 state law known as the Gun Control Act included a raft of new regulations, fees and requirements that contributed to an 80 percent reduction in gun licenses over time, according to Wallace. The new law in Lowell, which Taylor said has about 6,000 gun owners with licenses to carry, will require a specialized training course.

A local firearms-safety instructor, Randy Breton, told the Sun the training requirement appeared designed to purposely make it cost-prohibitive to apply for a gun permit. He said one five-day course approved by the city costs $1,100.

"It's beyond ridiculous," Breton told the newspaper.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/01/25/critics-blast-massachusetts-citys-new-essay-rule-for-gun-carry-applicants.html

Since fox is 'acceptable' when the anti-gun folks use it, and all...

[jonno99]

6. It seems this sentiment is apropos:

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, 1755

[Eleanors38]

9. Has a lotta Jim C's style AND anti-abortion legislation. How liberal.

[Eleanors38]

8. I didn't know Lowell was in Alabama.

"Well, it's the same old tale that the crow told me,
Way down yonder by the sycamore tree."
-- Johmmy Horton, 1959