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IPFS News Link • Gun Rights

FIREARMS RECORDS BUREAU vs. JAY E. SIMKIN & others(1)

• socialaw.com
 CORDY, J. Jay E. Simkin, a New Hampshire resident, held a temporary nonresident Class A unrestricted license to carry firearms in Massachusetts (license). Following an incident that occurred on November 6, 2009, the firearms records bureau(2) (bureau) revoked Simkin's license, deeming him no longer a "suitable person" to possess it. A judge in the Chelsea District Court ordered that Simkin's license be reinstated. The bureau appealed the decision to the Superior Court, where a judge ruled in favor of the bureau and vacated the order of the District Court. We granted Simkin's application for direct appellate review to consider whether the "suitable person" requirement set forth in G. L. c. 140, § 131, applies to temporary nonresident licenses issued pursuant to G. L. c. 140, § 131F. Although we conclude that it does, we also conclude that in the absence of regulations further defining unsuitability, no reasonable ground existed to revoke Simkin's license. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Superior Court.(3)

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