Responding to Bruen, Massachusetts added live fire requirements to get a license to carry. The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms answered Massachusetts’ call for comments.
The Bay State was one of the many jurisdictions that responded negatively towards the NYSRPA v. Bruen decision. Part of their sweeping law change was the addition of live fire training in order to get a license to carry in the Commonwealth. Recently the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security requested commentary from the public concerning the addition to the regulations. CCRKBA announced they’ve contacted the office, admonishing the requirement and delivered their recommendations.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has taken direct action regarding proposed training mandates in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by sending a letter to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), opposing the requirements.
CCRKBA board member John Petrolino’s letter reminds John H. Melander, Jr. at the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security in Boston that such a training requirement is unlikely to pass constitutional muster.
Petrolino’s blistering letter, which can be read in full HERE, says:
While the debate at hand is not whether or not compulsory training is constitutional, but rather the type of training that would satisfy a statutory requirement, it’s important to preface our recommendation with our stance on the issue. On behalf of our members, we want to make it clear that we are not in favor of training mandates in order to exercise a constitutional right. Requiring training–live fire or otherwise–in order to purchase, own, and or carry a firearm is akin to needing a college degree in order to express one’s own opinion or practice their religion.
There are no training mandates in order to exercise any other civil liberties enumerated by the U.S. Bill of Rights, and the Second Amendment should not be treated like a second class right.
That being said, please allow the following position statement of Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms be entered in the record on what would be an appropriate live fire requirement to be met for firearms licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Petrolino went on to explain that the Commonwealth puts undue liability on firearms instructors and he asserts that “the requirement of live fire training/qualification should be considered fulfilled at the discretion of the individual instructor.” Since, by law, there will be a training mandate, the Committee’s suggestion is that an instructor witnessing the firing of one round of ammunition safely should satisfy the requirements.
News2A queried Petrolino–who is also a contributor to the site.
“Massachusetts has a long sordid history of being ‘tolerant’ to those the establishment disfavors…Just look at the Salem Witch Trials. Today’s witch in the Bay State is the gun owner,” CCRKBA Board Member John Petrolino said when asked for his opinion. “Requiring live fire training in the Commonwealth after decades of it not being an issue is clearly a mean-spirited response to the Bruen decision. Boston and other jurisdictions are now forced to issue permits on a shall-issue basis, and the response from Beacon Hill is that of a petulant child.
“What’s even more troubling, aside from being unconstitutional, the live fire mandate will affect those seeking a license to carry to own and use stun guns and Tasers,” Petrolino continued. “Consider someone who wants an electric weapon to protect themselves instead of a firearm because they’re anti-gun. It’s morally repugnant for the Commonwealth to force those who are anti-gun to have to handle and fire firearms in order to exercise their right to self-defense via other means. [emphasis added]
“Further, the provision regulating electric weapons would be 100 percent contrary to the Caetano Supreme Court decision. Jamie Caetano was a homeless woman from Massachusetts who armed herself with a stun gun for self-defense from a domestic partner. Would a homeless person–even after going through live fire training–be eligible to receive a license to carry in the Commonwealth? Is the Commonwealth ready to go on the record to say they’d issue a LTC to someone without a permanent address?”
Petrolino doubled down and emphasized that the “bare minimum” is what should be used as a metric since the regulation is looming regardless. He said that making this change was clearly “just a checkbox on the wish list of anti-gun shills like Everytown, Moms Demand Action, Brady United, and Giffords.”
The Massachusetts State Constitution states: “The people have a right to keep and to bear arms for the common defense. And as, in time of peace, armies are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be maintained without the consent of the legislature; and the military power shall always be held in an exact subordination to the civil authority, and be governed by it.”
“There is not a lot of wiggle room in the state constitution,” said CCRKBA Managing Director Andrew Gottlieb. “I encourage our members in Massachusetts to attend this hearing and identify themselves when they comment. With their actions, together we can make meaningful changes to protect our rights.”
The general public still has time to weigh in on the training mandate that the Commonwealth will be initiating. The Committee said:
The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) will conduct a public hearing for the purposes of gathering comments, ideas, and information concerning the live fire component of the Basic Safety Firearms Course required by the new firearms law, An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws, Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024. Specifically, Section 152 of the Act requires the Secretary of Public Safety and Security to “study and report to the legislature on recommendations to ensure the effective implementation of live fire training required pursuant to section 131P of chapter 140 of the General Laws. Prior to filing its report, EOPSS must host (2) public hearings to solicit public input regarding the implementation of the live fire training requirement.
To access the meeting please click here.
To join hearing #2 via telephone (audio only), dial 857-327-9245 and use the following conference ID: 327430235#, and password: sE9jN6hG. If you are joining by computer, you may need to allow extra time to download Microsoft Teams.
Submission of Comments: Written comments or testimony in advance of the hearing are welcome and may be submitted by e-mail to [email protected] with a subject line stating, “Live Fire Comment” or by mail to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, One Ashburton Place, Room 2133, Boston, MA 02108, attention John H. Melander, Jr. Comments received after June 4, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. may not be accepted. All persons desiring to be heard on this matter should join the virtual hearings, and participants shall conduct themselves as if attending the hearing in-person.
With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.
