WORCESTER, Mass. — We are now learning that the guns used in the San Bernardino shooting were purchased legally. According to the FBI, the husband and wife assassin-team used two handguns and two high-powered-rifles.
And now we know the weapons were purchased legally in California, a state considered to have tough gun laws. That got us looking at the guns laws in New England and on Monday night we found some big differences between the states.
At the Gun Parlor in Worcester, the people behind the counter have to know a lot about firearms they sell and the state laws that regulate them. Guns and Ammo Magazine ranks Massachusetts as the third toughest state in the country for gun owners because of its laws.
In the Commonwealth, a license is required to purchase a gun, most tactical style rifles are banned and a magazine can't hold more than 10 rounds.
John Rosenthal, founder of Newton based Stop Handgun Violence helped to write the laws in Mass. and by phone, he said they are a model for the nation.
"Massachusetts has the lowest firearm death rate in the nation right now except to Hawaii where usually number 2 Hawaii is very isolated," he said.
Rhode Island and Connecticut are not far behind the Bay State with their strict gun laws. Maine falls somewhere in the middle. It's Vermont and New Hampshire that are on the opposite end of the spectrum. Permits to carry in the Granite State can be obtained quickly and for not a lot of money. And New Hampshire doesn't restrict tactical weapons, or magazine capacity.
The state guns law across the country are not only conflicting, but they can be confusing. Gun shop owner Justin Gabriel and Stop the Handgun Violence Founder John Rosenthal may not agree on much, but they both believe gun laws should be taken out of the state's hands and given to the feds.
Cox Media Group
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