Open Carry in Massachusetts:
Legal on Paper, Lethal to Your License

Can I open carry in Massachusetts with a valid LTC?

The Statutory Text

The statutory text is unambiguous: MGL c. 140, Section 131(a)^[1] authorizes LTC holders to "purchase, rent, lease, borrow, possess and carry firearms" with no distinction between concealed and open carry. MGL c. 269, Section 10(a) categorically exempts LTC holders from carrying penalties. No Massachusetts statute prohibits open carry by a valid LTC holder.

Historical context reinforces this reading. Before 2014, Massachusetts issued Class A and Class B licenses. Class B specifically prohibited carrying "a loaded firearm in a concealed manner in any public way or place," implying that open carry was the mode available to Class B holders. Class A had no such restriction. The elimination of these classes in 2014 left a single, unrestricted LTC that does not include any concealment requirement.

Case Law Supports Legality

The landmark case is Commonwealth v. Couture, 407 Mass. 178 (1990), where the SJC held that a man seen in public with a handgun, "without any additional information suggesting criminal activity," did not give rise to probable cause for a stop or search. This principle was strengthened by Commonwealth v. Guardado, 491 Mass. 666 (2023), which held post-Bruen that the Commonwealth must now prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant lacked a valid license. The presumption runs toward lawful carry.

The Suitability Trap

Open carry is functionally suppressed through the suitability standard. Under MGL c. 140, Section 121F^[2], licensing authorities "shall deny" an application or may revoke a license upon finding "reliable, articulable and credible information" that the person "may create a risk to public safety."

The mechanism works as follows: open carry triggers "man with a gun" 911 calls. Police respond with high priority. The encounter is documented even if the carrier is confirmed licensed. The documentation is forwarded to the licensing authority. The licensing authority initiates a suitability review, potentially concluding that behavior causing repeated public alarm demonstrates unsuitability. No published Massachusetts appellate decision has squarely addressed whether open carry alone constitutes grounds for suitability-based revocation.

The closest case is Phipps v. Police Commissioner of Boston, 94 Mass. App. Ct. 725 (2019), which constrained suitability discretion by requiring that revocation reasons bear a "reasonable nexus to public safety." But this was not an open carry case.

Constitutional Scrutiny

The SJC confirmed in Commonwealth v. Marquis, 495 Mass. 434 (SJC-13562, decided March 11, 2025) that the suitability standard is "consistent with the Second Amendment" under Bruen, analogizing it to historical surety and going-armed laws. This means the primary mechanism for suppressing open carry survives constitutional scrutiny.

Chapter 135^[3] added new "prohibited areas" under c. 269, Section 10(k), including government buildings, courts, and polling places, where no carry (open or concealed) is permitted even with an LTC, except for secured vehicle storage. Massachusetts has no state firearms preemption law, meaning municipalities could theoretically enact additional restrictions.

Bottom Line

Settled: Open carry is not illegal for LTC holders (clear from statutory text). Visible firearms alone do not constitute probable cause (Commonwealth v. Couture, 407 Mass. 178 (1990)). The Commonwealth must prove absence of license (Commonwealth v. Guardado, 491 Mass. 666 (2023)).

Unsettled: Whether open carry constitutes behavior justifying suitability-based revocation, and whether the suitability standard as applied to open carriers survives Second Amendment scrutiny.

Practical reality: Open carrying in Massachusetts frequently triggers a suitability review and potential license revocation, regardless of legality.