Three Grandfathering Dates and the Burden of Proof

Massachusetts law uses several dates for different firearm and feeding-device provisions. They are not interchangeable, and an item's eligibility depends on the exact statutory category and conditions.

September 13, 1994: Large-Capacity Feeding Devices

Section 131M(c) provides a limited exception for a large-capacity feeding device lawfully possessed on September 13, 1994. Possession is limited to the locations and travel stated in the section, and covered travel requires the device to be unloaded and secured in a locked container.^[1]

July 20, 2016: Certain Copies or Duplicates

Section 121 states that a firearm otherwise meeting its copy-or-duplicate provision is not treated as a copy or duplicate if it was sold, owned, and registered before July 20, 2016.^[2] The current text should be applied as written. It does not use the article's former formulation of "lawfully possessed, registered and serialized" or add a two-feature condition to that sentence.

August 1, 2024: Assault-Style Firearms

Section 131M(b) provides that the general prohibition does not apply to an assault-style firearm lawfully possessed within Massachusetts on August 1, 2024 by an LTC holder or licensed seller, provided the firearm satisfies the registration and serialization conditions stated there. The phrase "within the commonwealth" matters to this provision.

Proof and Burden Questions

The statutes identify the dates and conditions but do not create one general evidence checklist for every item. The current Superior Court model instruction for unlawful possession of a large-capacity weapon or feeding device tells judges to modify the instruction when the charge is under Section 131M.^[3] It does not, by that statement alone, resolve who bears every grandfathering burden. No controlling Massachusetts appellate decision identified in this review supplies a universal burden allocation for all three provisions.

Records to Preserve

Contemporaneous receipts, registration records, dated photographs, manufacturer information, and other reliable provenance may be relevant. No single document is guaranteed to resolve every dispute, and visual characteristics alone may be inconclusive for some feeding devices.

Bottom Line

Start with the item's statutory category, then apply the date, location, licensing, registration, serialization, and transfer conditions tied to that category. A person facing a disputed classification or criminal exposure should obtain qualified legal advice.