See Melrose's Active Firearms Licenses
What are your thoughts on President Obama's proposals to curb gun violence? Let us know by posting a comment below.
Photos
On Wednesday President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden unveiled a number of efforts aimed at curbing gun violence in the United States.
Massachusetts is home to some of the toughest gun control laws in the country, with local members of Congress urging the federal government do more to prevent tragedies like that in Newtown, Conn.
The state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security provided Patch with a summary of active firearms licenses in Melrose from 2008 through 2012. Here are the numbers for Melrose:
| Permit | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Firearms Identification Card | 69 | 80 | 80 | 75 | 76 |
| Firearms Identification Card Restricted Chemical Propellant Only | 35 | 43 | 50 | 55 | 54 |
| Resident Class A Large Capacity License to Carry Firearms | 693 | 777 | 825 | 859 | 890 |
| Resident Class B Non-Large Capacity License to Carry Firearms | 6 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 11 |
| Resident License to Possess a Machine Gun | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 808 | 908 | 966 | 1,002 | 1,033 |
More information on the kinds of firearms permits available in Massachusetts can be found here.
What are your thoughts on President Obama's proposals to curb gun violence? Let us know by posting a comment below.
Suzy Q Groden
10:56 am on Thursday, January 17, 2013
This is pretty shoking information, if I understand it correctly. Does this chart mean that almost 900 individuals in Melrose are licensed to own "large capacity" weapons? Why? Has Melrose become a war zone?
Dave Gray
12:10 pm on Thursday, January 17, 2013
To be honest, I thought the number would be higher. A Class A License allows "large capacity capable weapons", but more significantly, it allows a licensee to carry a concealed weapon. The vast majority of these license holders, like me, do not own a weapon like a Bushmaster or M16. Looking at it another way, it means 1 in 30 (approximately) residents have these permits. I submit to you that someone who has gone through the licensing process, which is long, and requires completion of a certified training course, is not the person you need to be worried about. The person you need to be worried about is the idiot who will drive down West Wyoming and pump six rounds into an apartment building. It's absolutely inconceivable to me that a licensed owner would ever consider doing something like that, and believe me, properly licensed owners are just as horrified by incidents like Newtown and Aurora as anyone else. By the way, "large capacity weapon" is misleading. It's not actually the weapon that's large capacity, it's the magazine, and these magazines are already prohibited in Mass for anyone but military and law enforcement. Also, don't confuse "legal" with "Mass compliant". A dealer can only sell a weapon manufactured after 1998 if it is on the "Mass compliant" list, and large capacity Glock magazines, for example, are stamped "LE/Military Only". It is illegal to possess them if you are not police or military.
Steve Gertz
10:20 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
War zone? If one owns any type of weapon for self defense, said territory becomes a war zone? That's a highly illogical statement.
EH
11:28 am on Thursday, January 17, 2013
Are some of the 890 Class A Licenses held by Melrose police officers? Or are they permitted differently?
Dave Gray
12:11 pm on Thursday, January 17, 2013
That is correct, and probably includes State Police, and other agencies as well.
Myron Dittmer
12:26 pm on Thursday, January 17, 2013
A Class A permit doesn't necessarily mean someone has a gun but only that someone has a permit to own and carry one. Many people get a permit but decide to use another person's gun to go hunting or target practice. Actually, when you think about the number of permits, it only represents about 4% of the adult population of Melrose...which should not be considered an alarmingly large number of gun owners....given that a large majority of these are probably for personal property protection.
tom shattuck
1:42 pm on Thursday, January 17, 2013
These are not the numbers to fear. The thugs NOT on this chart are the problem and one of them probably shot up the house on Wyoming.
Steve Smith
10:24 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
If you are for gun control, then you're not against guns, because the guns will be needed to disarm people. You'll need to go around, pass laws, and shoot people who resist, kick in doors, and throw people in jail, and so on; rip up families, just to take away guns. So it's not that you're anti-gun, because you'll need the police's guns to take away other people's guns, so you're very pro-gun, you just believe that only the government (which is of course is the biggest killer in human history) should be allowed to have guns. So there's no such thing as gun control, there's only centralizing gun ownership in the hands of a small political elite and their minions. Gun control is a misnomer.
Rich
11:41 am on Sunday, January 20, 2013
This is great news for criminals! Of the approximate 28,000 residents, only a thousand may be aremed. Odds are 28-1 in favor of criminals.
Len Dalton
2:41 pm on Sunday, January 20, 2013
No crimes ever from licensed gun owners. Only criminals and mentally unbalanced
commit crimes. Make the punishment for unlicensed carrying a gun VERY severe and they will think twice before carrying. Len Dalton
Serge Angeric
2:20 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013
I personally think that the second amendment has long been overtaken by gun enthusiasts as an excuse to own guns. The provisions for a "well regulated militia" have long been found in the "national guard" that each state maintains. And, who can honestly think that "to maintain the security of a free state" is something one can be worried about it today after having successfully elected administrations for mere than 57 times!!!
No the truth is that gun ownership should be reserved to very few people as it is clear that the weapons are very dangerous and the cause of more than 40000 deaths a year in this country alone.
Aside from hunting I do not see any justification for gun ownership outside those for which it is a necessity (police and army).
dh
9:17 pm on Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Lack of gun control laws and legal gun ownership is not the problem. Punish criminals not the law obeying.