Mass Residents Arm Up — MA Concealed Carry Licenses Soar 66%

CHARLEMONT, MASSACHUSETTS — Despite the restrictive gun laws imposed upon the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, residents are still choosing to go through the process to get their concealed carry applications.  According to News 22, permits have soared 66% since 2010.  This has lead to a lot of head-scratching amongst many who pictured their state as tacitly “anti-gun”.  As it turns out, safety and security are still paramount to all.  This coincides with a noted spike in gun purchases made by Massachusetts residents just this year.

via News 22

378,642 people or one in every 14 adults has a gun license in Massachusetts. Up from 227,612 in 2010. A 66% increase.

As the channel notes, a significant portion of these new gun owners are women — matching a trend seen nationwide.  When they asked NRA-certified instructor Denise Ancieri, she responded with this:

“Within the last few years there’s been a significant rise in the last 3-4 years,” said Denise.  ““After a long day at the office there’s nothing more fun than meeting with up with a bunch of girls at the range and letting off some steam.”

The Westfield Chief of Police, an issuing authority for the permits for the city of Westfield, Mass., stated that women are increasingly concerned with their security and want to be pro-active in defending themselves.

“The main reason is they’re concerned for their safety and they want to be able to do something if they’re in a position where their live was threatened,” said Chief Camerota.

Massachusetts is one of the few states with a mandatory training requirement that does not require a live-fire examination.  Critics have argued this may pose a risk as there is no state-certified level of competency but, as we’ve asked plenty of times — should the state be the determining factor in firearms competency?

As Maine has just begun their policy of constitutional carry and Vermont has continued to uphold their constitutional carry requirements, it’s only fitting that Massachusetts residents are at least allowed to protect themselves.

At present, Massachusetts does not have clear set laws on Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine laws.  Massachusetts concealed carriers are strongly encouraged to review their laws on the topic of “Self Defense” for their own situational awareness.