Facing Firearm or Weapons Charges in Massachusetts? Boston Criminal Defense Serpa Law Office Can Help

If you have been arrested for a gun charge in Massachusetts, you may be in a state of disbelief. Unlike many other states where a simple misunderstanding about a firearm might result in a slap on the wrist or a fine, Massachusetts treats gun offenses with unparalleled severity. You are not just facing a citation; you are facing the immediate threat of mandatory jail time, the permanent loss of your Second Amendment rights, and a life-altering felony record.

At Serpa Law Office, we frequently meet with clients terrified because they genuinely thought they were following the law. Perhaps your License to Carry (LTC) expired without you realizing it, you misunderstood the state’s highly complex safe-storage laws, or you are an out-of-state visitor who assumed your home state’s gun permit protected you while traveling. Worse, you may have been pulled over for a suspected OUI, only to have a lawful firearm turn a bad night into a legal nightmare.

We understand that you are likely a responsible person who made an honest mistake or was subjected to an overzealous police search. However, the Massachusetts justice system does not grade on a curve. Prosecutors are under immense political and public pressure to secure convictions in all firearm cases. You need an aggressive, highly strategic defense to protect your freedom. We are here to listen without judgment, investigate the facts, and fight tirelessly on your behalf.

The Harsh Reality of Massachusetts Gun Laws: Mandatory Minimums

The most terrifying aspect of Massachusetts firearm law is the concept of the “mandatory minimum.” Under the state’s Bartley-Fox law, judges are stripped of their discretion in many gun cases.

If you are convicted of carrying a firearm without a valid Massachusetts License to Carry (M.G.L. c. 269, § 10(a)), the judge must sentence you to a minimum of 18 months in the House of Correction, and you could face up to 5 years in state prison. The judge cannot suspend this sentence, nor can they simply give you probation. If you lose at trial, you will go to jail.

This rigid system means that negotiating with prosecutors and attacking the constitutional foundation of the police’s case before trial is absolutely critical.

The Out-of-State Carrier Trap: Why Your Home State Permit Doesn’t Matter Here

One of the most common and heartbreaking scenarios we see at Serpa Law Office involves out-of-state travelers. Massachusetts does not have reciprocity with the vast majority of other states when it comes to concealed carry permits.

If you have a perfectly valid concealed carry permit from New Hampshire, Texas, Florida, or almost any other state, it is completely legally void the second you cross the Massachusetts border. Many well-meaning tourists, business travelers, and truck drivers are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction (like a broken taillight or speeding) only to find themselves handcuffed on the side of the highway because they honestly answered “yes” when the officer asked if there was a weapon in the vehicle.

The Federal Safe Passage Exception (FOPA)

There is one narrow exception for out-of-state travelers: The federal Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA). FOPA allows you to transport a firearm through a strict state like Massachusetts, provided you meet very specific criteria:

1. Your journey must begin and end in states where you can legally possess the firearm.
2. The firearm must be completely unloaded.
3. The firearm and the ammunition must be locked in the trunk of the vehicle or in a locked container (the glove box or center console does not count).

The problem? The moment you stop in Massachusetts for anything other than gas or a brief rest stop—for instance, checking into a Boston hotel for the night or visiting a friend in Worcester—you lose your FOPA protection. If your gun is in your glove box loaded, even if you are just passing through, you are committing a felony under Massachusetts law.

Common Firearm Charges We Defend

Serpa Law Office provides relentless defense against all state and federal weapons charges. The most common offenses we handle include:

1. Carrying a Firearm While Intoxicated / OUI (M.G.L. c. 269, § 10H)

In Massachusetts, mixing firearms and alcohol or drugs is treated severely. Under M.G.L. c. 269, § 10H, it is a crime to carry a loaded firearm on your person, or have one under your control in a vehicle, while under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or narcotic drugs (or with a BAC of .08% or higher).

Many lawful gun owners find themselves facing this charge after a routine traffic stop for suspected Operating Under the Influence (OUI). Even if you have a valid, active License to Carry, being intoxicated with a loaded gun transforms your legal possession into a crime punishable by up to 2.5 years in the House of Correction and fines of up to $5,000. Furthermore, an arrest for this charge almost always guarantees the immediate suspension or permanent revocation of your LTC by your local police chief.

2. Carrying a Firearm Without a License (M.G.L. c. 269, § 10(a))

This is the most common and dangerous gun charge. Whether the gun is tucked into your waistband or under your control in a vehicle, lacking a valid, active Massachusetts LTC means facing the 18-month mandatory minimum jail sentence.

3. Possession of a Large Capacity Weapon or Feeding Device

Massachusetts has its own strict “Assault Weapons Ban.” If you are caught in possession of a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds of ammunition for a rifle or handgun (or more than 5 shotgun shells), you face a mandatory minimum of one year in prison, and up to 10 years. Many out-of-state residents legally purchase 15- or 17-round magazines at home, only to cross into Massachusetts and instantly become felons.

4. Improper Storage of a Firearm

Massachusetts law requires that whenever a firearm is not under your direct control, it must be secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock. Leaving a gun under your mattress, in an unlocked nightstand, or in an unlocked car console can lead to severe criminal charges and the permanent revocation of your LTC, even if the gun was never used in a crime.

5. Possession of Ammunition Without an FID

In Massachusetts, you cannot legally possess even a single bullet or an empty shell casing without a valid Firearms Identification (FID) card or LTC. We frequently see clients charged simply because a stray, forgotten round of ammunition was found rolling around the floorboards of their car during a search.

6. Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) Enhancements

If you have prior convictions for violent crimes or serious drug offenses, facing a new gun charge in Massachusetts can trigger ACCA enhancements. This can elevate your potential sentence drastically, pushing the mandatory minimums to 3, 10, or even 15 years in state prison.

The Collateral Damage of a Firearm Conviction

Beyond the immediate threat of a jail cell, a weapons conviction will permanently alter the trajectory of your life.

• Loss of Second Amendment Rights: A felony conviction means you will be federally prohibited from ever owning or possessing a firearm again, anywhere in the United States.
• Career Destruction: Most employers will not hire someone with a felony weapons conviction. If you hold a professional license, security clearance, or work in healthcare or education, your career could be over.
• Housing and Travel: A felony record severely limits your housing options and can restrict your ability to travel internationally.

How Serpa Law Office Fights Gun Charges

Because of the mandatory minimums, walking into court and pleading guilty is rarely a viable option. At Serpa Law Office, we take an aggressive, proactive approach. We do not just look at what the police found; we heavily scrutinize how they found it. Our defense strategies frequently involve:

• Filing Motions to Suppress Evidence: The Fourth Amendment protects you from illegal searches and seizures. If the police pulled you over without reasonable suspicion, extended an OUI stop illegally to search your trunk without a warrant, or coerced you into a search, we will file a Motion to Suppress. If the judge agrees the search was illegal, the gun is thrown out as evidence, and the case is typically dismissed.
• Challenging “Constructive Possession”: If a gun is found in a car with multiple people, or in an apartment shared by roommates, the state must prove that you not only knew the gun was there but that you had the intent and ability to exercise control over it. Simply being near a gun does not make you guilty of possessing it.
• Fighting the OUI Foundation: If you are charged with carrying while intoxicated, we can attack the underlying OUI charge. We challenge faulty breathalyzers, subjective field sobriety tests, and the arresting officer’s assumptions to dismantle the prosecution’s claim that you were actually legally impaired.
• Asserting FOPA Defenses for Travelers: If you were an out-of-state resident traveling through Massachusetts in compliance with federal law, we will aggressively assert your rights under the Firearm Owners Protection Act to have the charges dropped.

Take Immediate Action to Protect Your Future

Gun cases move quickly, and the stakes could not be higher. If you or a loved one is facing a firearm charge in Massachusetts, you cannot afford to wait, and you cannot afford to hire an attorney who is unfamiliar with the intense nuances of state gun laws.

The prosecution is already building their case. Let us start dismantling it. Contact Serpa Law Office today for a highly confidential consultation. We will give you a straightforward assessment of your legal exposure and map out a strategic defense to protect your freedom and your record.

Massachusetts Possessing or Carrying a Firearm Defense Attorney

What Right to Bear Arms? How Much Jail Time can I do for Carrying or Possessing an Illegal gun or Firearm Without a License?

Massachusetts strictly regulates firearm ownership, and our courts severely punish people for possessing, and more so for carrying outside of their homes or places of business, guns or firearms without a license or an “FID” card. Our criminal law permits possessing a gun or firearm inside your house or your place of business as long as you have and maintain an “FID” or firearms identification card. If you want to “carry,” or take your gun outside, whether on your person or in your car, you need a license to carry that gun or firearm.

So what about the right to bear arms found in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution? Our courts have found that right to be important, but not limitless. Local governments do not violate the Second Amendment when they impose reasonable restrictions on gun ownership, such as the requirement of a background check and of a license to carry.

Criminal penalties for violating these licensing requirements are severe. A conviction of unlicensed “carrying” outside your home or place of business carries a potential state prison sentence between two and one half years and five years, or a house of correction sentence between eighteen months and two and one half years. The mandatory minimum sentence under this law is eighteen months. A conviction for illegal possession inside your home or place of work is less severe, but still serious.

Mandatory sentences become even more severe if you’ve been convicted previously of certain drug crimes, crimes involving violence or the threat of violence or previous gun offenses under the “armed career criminal act.” Mandatory minimum sentences under these provisions begin at three years in state prison and grow rapidly for people with more prior offenses.

Our Boston criminal defense attorney’s office has successfully defended these cases over two decades. We have successfully challenged before a jury the prosecution’s evidence that an alleged “firearm” is actually a firearm under the legal definition. We have at times employed the assistance of private defense firearms experts to test and analyze alleged firearms. We have also defended these cases when police officer have obtained alleged firearms after an illegal search, an illegal stop or an illegal confession. Our criminal lawyer’s office has also obtained acquittals or dismissals in cases where a gun discarded during a police chase, or found in the presence of several people, which made it unclear who owned the gun.

Contact Serpa Law Office if you have been charge with a firearms offense.