Mass. police chiefs favor discretion in issuing concealed gun permits
Thursday, April 16, 2015 - 15:30
in Psychology & Sociology
Who decides who can carry concealed firearms legally? Should local police chiefs have a say? Massachusetts police chiefs think so. A new survey finds that a large majority of Massachusetts police chiefs favor continuing to give local police discretion in whether or not to grant concealed carry hand gun permits in their jurisdiction. Massachusetts is one of nine states with a "may-issue" concealed carry permit law, which gives a police chief discretion in issuing a gun permit; most other states have "shall-issue" laws that limit police discretion. In about half of those states, police have no discretion at all and a police chief must issue a permit if the applicant passes a computerized federal background check.