WomensLaw serves and supports all survivors, no matter their sex or gender.

Legal Information: Massachusetts

State Gun Laws

Updated: 
December 14, 2023

What is the penalty for violating the firearm laws?

Under Massachusetts state law, anyone who violates the firearm provision of an abuse prevention order can be punished by a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to two and a half years, or both.1

Generally, any person who possesses a firearm outside of his/her home or place of business without a firearm license can be punished by prison time of up to five years or jail time of up to two and a half years.2

Also, anyone who violates Massachusetts’ firearm licensing laws can be punished by a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000.3

1 Mass. Gen. Laws 209A § 3B
2 Mass. Gen. Laws 269 § 10(a)
3 Mass. Gen. Laws 140 § 131(a)

Legal Information

© 2008–2024 WomensLaw.org is a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Inc. All rights reserved. This website is funded in part through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). NNEDV is a 501©(3) non-profit organization; EIN 52-1973408.