Improper Storage of a Firearm in Massachusetts: G.L. c. 140, § 131L

A gun owner whose firearm is found unlocked, outside a locked container, and out of their reach is charged with improper storage of a firearm under G.L. c. 140, § 131L. Most defendants hold a valid license to carry or firearm identification card. The police find the gun while serving an abuse prevention order, answering a domestic call, or checking on a resident. They also find it while investigating a burglary in which the gun was stolen, or while searching a car after a traffic stop.

If a defendant is convicted and the firearm was not a large capacity firearm, the possible penalties are a fine of $1,000 to $7,500, up to one and one half years in a house of correction, or both. If the firearm was a large capacity firearm, a semiautomatic weapon, or a machine gun, the possible penalties are a fine of $2,000 to $15,000, one and one half to twelve years in state prison, or both. A conviction also bars the defendant from holding a license to carry. The seized guns must then go to a dealer or a licensed person.

This page explains what the statute requires, when a firearm is carried by or under the control of its owner, and what counts as a locked container. It covers the rules for a gun left in a car, the two penalty tiers and the court that hears each, the defenses, and what a conviction means for the license, the guns, and the record. Attorney Joe Serpa has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995 and defends storage charges in the Boston Municipal Court and the District Courts of Greater Boston.

The Storage Requirement

Section 131L(a) makes it unlawful “to store or keep any firearm in any place unless such firearm is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such firearm inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user.” A stun gun must be kept in a locked container accessible only to the owner or an authorized user.

The statute then removes the carried gun from its scope. A firearm “shall not be deemed stored or kept if carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user.” G.L. c. 140, § 131L(a). The requirement applies to every owner, licensed or not. A license to carry permits the owner to carry the gun. It does not permit the owner to leave the gun unsecured in a drawer, a closet, or a car.

Since October 2, 2024, the word “firearm” in the statute covers rifles, shotguns, and stun guns as well as handguns. St. 2024, c. 135 rewrote the definition in G.L. c. 140, § 121 and struck the statute’s separate references to rifles and shotguns. The statute does not apply to a firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar ignition system made in or before 1899. The exemption also covers a replica of such a firearm that does not use conventional fixed ammunition. G.L. c. 140, § 131L(f).

The Elements

To convict a defendant of improper storage, the Commonwealth must prove three elements beyond a reasonable doubt. First, the item was a firearm as G.L. c. 140, § 121 defines the word. Second, the defendant knowingly kept or stored it. Third, the firearm was unsecured. District Court Instruction 7.630 (rev. Nov. 2021) states the elements in that form.

A firearm is unsecured when it is accessible to a person not authorized by law. It is secured when it is in a locked container or has an engaged tamper-resistant lock or other safety device. The lock or device must render the gun inoperable by anyone other than the owner or an authorized user. A firearm that the defendant carried, or that was under the defendant’s immediate control, was not kept or stored at all.

The instruction predates the October 2, 2024 amendments. Its definition of a firearm still uses the old barrel-length wording. For an offense on or after that date, § 121 defines a firearm as a stun gun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, or other listed weapon that “is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a shot or bullet.” The firm’s page on carrying a firearm without a license explains that definition and the earlier one.

Under the earlier definition, the Commonwealth had to prove that the gun could fire. A storage conviction was reversed where the only proof of operability was a ballistics certificate admitted without the analyst. Commonwealth v. Hollister, 75 Mass. App. Ct. 729, 730 (2009). A BB gun is not a firearm. The Supreme Judicial Court has written that treating it as one would impose the storage statute’s criminal penalties on BB guns. Commonwealth v. Garrett, 473 Mass. 257, 264 (2015).

Carried or Under the Control of the Owner

The statute does not apply to a gun that the owner carries or keeps within immediate reach. “The gun owner’s obligation to secure the firearm in accordance with the statute arises only when the firearm is stored or otherwise outside the owner’s immediate control.” Commonwealth v. Runyan, 456 Mass. 230, 236 (2010).

Carrying means actual physical possession. Control means something close to it. A firearm is under the owner’s control “only when that person has it sufficiently nearby to prevent immediately its unauthorized use.” Commonwealth v. Patterson, 79 Mass. App. Ct. 316, 319 (2011). The jury considers the location of the firearm, its distance from the owner, and the owner’s ability to get to it at once. Patterson, 79 Mass. App. Ct. at 320.

Control under § 131L is narrower than constructive possession. A defendant who could constructively possess a gun across the room has not kept it under control. Commonwealth v. Cantelli, 83 Mass. App. Ct. 156, 171-172 (2013). In Cantelli, a licensed owner answered his door wearing a holstered pistol while other loaded guns lay unsecured around a cluttered apartment. The jury acquitted him on the gun directly behind him and convicted him on a rifle against the far bedroom wall and a pistol on the bedroom floor. The Appeals Court affirmed those convictions because the guns were not within his immediate reach. Cantelli, 83 Mass. App. Ct. at 172.

In Patterson, an off-duty police officer was downstairs while his unloaded revolver sat in a jacket pocket in an upstairs closet, with children in the house. The Appeals Court affirmed the conviction. Patterson, 79 Mass. App. Ct. at 317, 320. A gun in a locked car is stored the moment the owner walks away from the car. Commonwealth v. Reyes, 464 Mass. 245, 258 (2013).

In a 2026 decision, the Appeals Court affirmed a conviction where the gun was in a backpack on the passenger floor during a traffic stop. An officer stood between the driver and the car. Commonwealth v. Vardamis-Henry, No. 23-P-820 (Mass. App. Ct. July 9, 2026) (unpublished). The Appeals Court has also described § 131L as a statute “primarily concerned with storing firearms.” It does not require an owner to keep a rifle at hand when answering the door. Commonwealth v. Howard, No. 24-P-1128 (Mass. App. Ct. Nov. 13, 2025).

What Counts as a Locked Container or a Safety Device

Since October 2, 2024, § 121 defines “secured in a locked container” as “secured in a container that is capable of being unlocked only by means of a key, combination or similar means, including in an unoccupied motor vehicle, a locked trunk not accessible from the passenger compartment, a locked console or locked glovebox.”

The definition adopts the standard the Supreme Judicial Court set in Reyes, where the court wrote that “any qualifying container must be capable of being unlocked only by means of a key, combination, or other similar means.” Reyes, 464 Mass. at 252. Safes, weapon boxes, locked cabinets, gun cases, lock boxes, and locked vehicle trunks all qualify. Reyes, 464 Mass. at 253.

The lock must be a real one. “Even a door locked with a key is not secure if the key is hanging next to the lock.” Commonwealth v. Parzick, 64 Mass. App. Ct. 846, 850 (2005). In Parzick, rifles sat in a bedroom closet behind a door with a knob lock that a lodger opened with a bobby pin. The lodger’s son stole the rifles. The Appeals Court held that the statute requires containers locked “in a way that will deter all but the most persistent from gaining access.” Parzick, 64 Mass. App. Ct. at 850.

A locked room can be a container, but a person cannot lock the front door and treat the whole house as one. Reyes, 464 Mass. at 254 n.14. Once the gun is in a locked box, the owner need not hide the box. A pistol in a locked manufacturer’s case with a cable lock through it, inside a cooler in the backyard, was properly secured. Commonwealth v. Lojko, 77 Mass. App. Ct. 82, 85 (2010).

A trigger lock or cable lock satisfies the statute if it is engaged and renders the gun inoperable by anyone else. Reyes, 464 Mass. at 251. A holster is not a lock, but the Commonwealth must still prove that no lock was in place. In a 2024 decision, the Appeals Court ordered a judgment of not guilty where a holstered pistol lay on a table, the holster covered the trigger, and no witness testified about a lock. Commonwealth v. Rufo, No. 24-P-229 (Mass. App. Ct. Oct. 11, 2024) (unpublished).

A Firearm Left in a Car

A locked car is not a locked container. “The Legislature did not consider a locked motor vehicle itself to be a secure container for the storage of firearms.” Reyes, 464 Mass. at 255. In Reyes, a correctional officer left his loaded pistol in the glove box of his locked car outside the jail because the gun lockers inside were full. The Supreme Judicial Court held that he had stored the gun once he walked away from the car and that the locked car did not secure it. Whether the glove box was locked was a question for the jury. Reyes, 464 Mass. at 255-256, 258.

The 2024 definition in § 121 now answers that question for an unoccupied vehicle. A locked trunk that cannot be opened from the passenger compartment, a locked console, or a locked glove box qualifies. The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s guidance on the 2024 law says the same.

A separate statute governs a gun in a car while the owner is in it. G.L. c. 140, § 131C(a) requires a person carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle to keep it under their direct control. A violation is punishable by a fine of $500. Section 131C(b) requires a large capacity rifle or shotgun in a vehicle to be unloaded and secured in a locked container, with a fine of $500 to $5,000.

If a defendant is convicted under § 131C, the licensing authority must revoke the license to carry or the firearm identification card. The licensing authority may not issue a new license for one year. G.L. c. 140, § 131C(d). An unloaded rifle or shotgun carried on a public way must be enclosed in a case. G.L. c. 269, § 12D(b).

Knowledge and Ownership

The Commonwealth must prove that the defendant knowingly kept or stored the firearm. A person who did not know the gun was in the house has a defense. The statute punishes the owner, not only the person in possession. In Commonwealth v. Lovering, 89 Mass. App. Ct. 76, 79 (2016), an abuse prevention order had kept the defendant out of his apartment for a month when his wife found his unsecured pistol while dusting. The Appeals Court held that the Commonwealth did not have to prove possession, because “the gun storage statute … imposes liability on owners of firearms.”

A person ordered out of the home by a 209A order remains the owner of every gun left behind. The order requires that the guns go to the police. The firm’s post on firearms after a domestic violence charge explains the surrender order.

The statute does not say that the Commonwealth must prove the defendant knew the gun was unsecured. No appellate decision has decided the question. For the higher penalty tier, a related rule applies. The Supreme Judicial Court requires proof that a defendant charged with possessing a large capacity firearm under G.L. c. 269, § 10(m) knew the firearm was large capacity. Commonwealth v. Cassidy, 479 Mass. 527 (2018). Whether that rule applies to the large capacity tier of § 131L(b) has not been decided. Counsel should request the instruction.

Penalties, the Two Tiers, and the Court

If a defendant is convicted and the firearm was not a large capacity firearm or a machine gun, the possible penalties are a fine of $1,000 to $7,500, imprisonment for up to one and one half years in a house of correction, or both. G.L. c. 140, § 131L(b). That offense is a misdemeanor. The District Court has jurisdiction over it. A continuance without a finding, probation, or pretrial probation is available. The firm’s page on continuances without a finding and pretrial probation explains those dispositions.

If the firearm was a large capacity firearm, a semiautomatic weapon, or a machine gun, the possible penalties are a fine of $2,000 to $15,000, imprisonment in state prison for one and one half to twelve years, or both. G.L. c. 140, § 131L(b). That offense is a felony punishable by more than five years. G.L. c. 218, § 26 gives the District Court no jurisdiction over it, so the Commonwealth must obtain an indictment and try the case in the Superior Court.

Under G.L. c. 140, § 121, a large capacity firearm includes any semiautomatic firearm capable of accepting a detachable magazine that holds more than ten rounds. That definition describes most modern semiautomatic pistols. St. 2024, c. 135, § 70 added the words “or semiautomatic” to the higher tier. A semiautomatic firearm that is not large capacity now fits the wording of both tiers. No appellate court has decided which tier applies to such a firearm. The rule of lenity favors the lower one.

The higher tier states a term of “not less than” one and one half years, but § 131L contains no language barring probation, a suspended sentence, or a continuance without a finding. The Supreme Judicial Court has held that a “not less than” term without an express bar does not require a mandatory minimum state prison sentence. Commonwealth v. Hines, 449 Mass. 183, 191 (2007). “When the Legislature intends to bar probation, it knows how to say so explicitly.” Commonwealth v. Zapata, 455 Mass. 530, 534 (2009). A state prison sentence, once imposed, cannot be suspended. G.L. c. 127, § 133. No decision applies those rules to § 131L.

Where a person under 18 may have access to the gun without committing an unforeseeable trespass, the penalties rise again. For a firearm that is not large capacity, subsection (c) provides a fine of $2,500 to $15,000, imprisonment for one and one half to twelve years, or both. For a large capacity firearm or a machine gun, subsection (d) provides a fine of $10,000 to $20,000, imprisonment for four to fifteen years, or both. Both are Superior Court felonies.

A violation is also evidence of wanton or reckless conduct in any criminal or civil case. That rule applies if a person under 18 who was not a trespasser gained access to the firearm and someone was injured or killed. G.L. c. 140, § 131L(e).

An improper storage charge standing alone is not a predicate for a dangerousness hearing under G.L. c. 276, § 58A(1). Any charge brought while a 209A order is in effect against the defendant is a predicate. The Commonwealth must bring the charge within six years. G.L. c. 277, § 63. Where the police apply for a complaint on the misdemeanor tier without an arrest, the person has the right to a clerk-magistrate hearing before the complaint issues. G.L. c. 218, § 35A.

Constitutional Challenges

The storage statute has survived every Second Amendment challenge. The Supreme Judicial Court upheld it in Runyan because, unlike the District of Columbia law struck down in District of Columbia v. Heller, it does not apply to a gun carried by the owner or under the owner’s control. Runyan, 456 Mass. at 236-237.

After the Second Amendment was applied to the states, the court held that § 131L(a) “falls outside the scope of the Second Amendment.” The statute is consistent with the right to keep a gun for self-defense in the home. Its purpose is to keep unlicensed persons from gaining access to firearms. Commonwealth v. McGowan, 464 Mass. 232, 244 (2013). The court rejected a vagueness challenge in Reyes, 464 Mass. at 248-254. In 2025 the Appeals Court held that New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen did not change the result. Commonwealth v. Brown, No. 24-P-512 (Mass. App. Ct. Aug. 6, 2025) (unpublished).

The Search That Found the Firearm

The police rarely obtain a warrant for a storage violation. They see the gun while inside the home or the car for another reason. An entry to help a person in danger, followed by the seizure of guns in plain view, was upheld in Cantelli, 83 Mass. App. Ct. at 166-168. An emergency aid entry after a domestic 911 call was upheld in Commonwealth v. Gordon, 87 Mass. App. Ct. 322 (2015). A co-occupant’s consent to search a shared closet covered the defendant’s unlocked suitcase with the gun inside. Commonwealth v. Hernandez, 93 Mass. App. Ct. 172 (2018).

In 2025 the Appeals Court vacated the denial of a motion to suppress and sent the case back for findings on consent and exigency. The officer had entered because “the firearm could be unsecured and there were multiple people inside the apartment.” Commonwealth v. Cunningham, No. 24-P-736 (Mass. App. Ct. July 11, 2025) (unpublished). Where the entry, the consent, or the scope of the search fails, the judge suppresses the gun. The firm’s page on illegal searches and seizures covers the motion to suppress.

Defenses

Carried or under control. A gun on the owner’s person, or close enough that the owner could stop anyone else from using it at once, was never stored. Counsel establishes where the defendant was, where the gun was, and who else was in the room.

A locked container or an engaged lock. A gun in a safe, a lock box, a locked gun case, a locked trunk, or a locked glove box in an unoccupied car was secured. So was a gun with an engaged trigger or cable lock. The Commonwealth must prove the absence of a lock. A photograph or an officer’s assumption is not always enough, as Rufo shows.

Knowledge. The Commonwealth must prove that the defendant knowingly kept or stored the gun. A gun placed in the home by someone else, without the defendant’s knowledge, is not the defendant’s storage violation.

The definition of a firearm. The Commonwealth must prove that the item was a firearm under § 121. For an offense before October 2, 2024, that includes proof that the gun could fire. A certificate without the examiner is inadmissible. For a later offense, counsel holds the Commonwealth to the new definition and objects to any ballistics evidence offered without a live witness.

Suppression. Where the police entered the home without a warrant, valid consent, or an emergency, or searched a car without a lawful basis, the judge suppresses the gun. The firm’s page on traffic stops, exit orders, and pretext searches covers the vehicle cases.

The tier. Counsel challenges whether the gun was a large capacity firearm, demands proof that the defendant knew it was, and argues that a semiautomatic firearm that is not large capacity belongs in the lower tier.

An antique or a replica. A muzzle-loading or percussion cap firearm made in or before 1899, or a replica that does not use conventional fixed ammunition, is outside the statute. G.L. c. 140, § 131L(f).

The License, the Seized Guns, Immigration, and the Record After a Conviction

A felony conviction under the higher tier makes the defendant a prohibited person under G.L. c. 140, § 121F(j), which bars a license to carry and a firearm identification card with no time limit. A misdemeanor conviction under the lower tier is a conviction for a violation of a law regarding the possession or ownership of firearms for which a term of imprisonment may be imposed. That conviction bars a license to carry with no time limit and bars a firearm identification card for five years.

The Appeals Court has said that a conviction under § 131L(b) would bar a license to carry. Chief of Police of Taunton v. Caras, 95 Mass. App. Ct. 182 (2019).

The licensing authority does not need a conviction to act. In Caras, the chief revoked a license after a handgun left in an unlocked glove compartment was stolen by the licensee’s grandson. The Appeals Court upheld the revocation on suitability grounds although no charge was brought. Caras, 95 Mass. App. Ct. at 186. A continuance without a finding that ends in a dismissal is not a conviction under § 121F, but the licensing authority may still find the person unsuitable based on the incident.

The guns do not come back. A lawfully owned but improperly stored firearm is not contraband, so a judge cannot order it forfeited under G.L. c. 276, § 3. Commonwealth v. Fleury, 489 Mass. 421 (2022).

The disposition of the guns is governed by G.L. c. 140, § 129D. The former owner has one year to transfer the guns to a licensed dealer or to a person licensed to possess them. The transferee must affirm in writing that they will not transfer the guns back. Guns not transferred within the year are sold at a State Police auction. The Appeals Court applied those rules to a defendant who had received a continuance without a finding on a storage charge and then sought his gun’s return. Commonwealth v. Atkinson-Gedutis, No. 24-P-1145 (Mass. App. Ct. May 6, 2025) (unpublished).

Federal immigration law imposes its own consequences on a storage case. The deportability ground for firearms offenses covers a conviction “under any law of purchasing, selling, offering for sale, exchanging, using, owning, possessing, or carrying” a firearm. 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(C). No court has decided whether a Massachusetts storage conviction falls within that ground. A noncitizen should not enter an admission or accept a continuance without a finding until an immigration lawyer has reviewed the charge, the client’s immigration status, and the court record. The same review applies before the client files a petition or sits for an interview at which an officer may ask about the arrest or the police report. The firm’s immigration consequences pages describe the review.

The arraignment creates an entry in the defendant’s criminal record. The sealing statute excludes convictions under G.L. c. 140, §§ 121 to 131H, and § 131L falls outside that range. A misdemeanor storage conviction can be sealed under G.L. c. 276, § 100A three years after the disposition and any incarceration. A felony conviction can be sealed after seven years. In either case there must be no new conviction in the waiting period. A dismissal after a continuance without a finding can be sealed sooner under § 100C.

Attorney Serpa’s Representation in Improper Storage Cases

Attorney Joe Serpa has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995. He defends improper storage charges in the Boston Municipal Court and the District Courts of Greater Boston. Most arise after a 209A surrender order, a domestic call, a burglary, or a traffic stop. In every case he reviews the entry and the search, the location of the gun relative to the client, the container and any lock, the tier charged, and the licensing record. He then advises on a motion to suppress, a trial, or a continuance without a finding, and on the transfer of the seized guns under § 129D.

Frequently Asked Questions About Improper Storage of a Firearm

Related Serpa Law Office Resources

• Massachusetts Criminal Defense of Firearms Offenses
• Carrying a Firearm Without a License in Massachusetts: G.L. c. 269, § 10(a)
• Possession of a Firearm or Ammunition Without an FID Card in Massachusetts: G.L. c. 269, § 10(h)
• Firearms Offenses for Massachusetts Visitors or Out-of-State Travelers
• Firearms After a Domestic Violence Charge in Massachusetts
• Illegal Searches and Seizures in Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Traffic Stops, Exit Orders, and Pretext Searches
• Massachusetts Clerk-Magistrate (Show Cause) Hearings
• Continuances Without a Finding, Pretrial Probation, and Diversion
• Felonies and Misdemeanors in Massachusetts
• Who Can See Your Massachusetts Criminal Record
• Sealing and Expunging a Massachusetts Criminal Record
• Criminal Records and the Massachusetts Firearms License Application
• Immigration Consequences of Massachusetts Criminal Charges