MGL Chapter 269, Section 10(k):
Prohibited Areas Under Chapter 135

Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024^[1] added subsection (k) to MGL Chapter 269, Section 10^[2], establishing a list of locations where carrying a firearm is prohibited even for licensed holders. Chapter 135 was approved on July 25, 2024, after the Supreme Court decided Bruen on June 23, 2022.

Prohibited Areas

Section 10(k)(2) defines a "prohibited area" narrowly. There are two categories:

• Government administrative, judicial, or correctional locations: a place owned, leased, or under the control of state, county, or municipal government and used for government administration, judicial or court administrative proceedings, or correctional services, including the buildings, grounds, and parking areas. State-owned public hunting land is excluded, and a municipality may vote to exclude its own administrative buildings.
• Election locations: a location in use for the storage or tabulation of ballots during the hours voting or tabulation is occurring, or a polling place or early voting site while open for voting, or any location within 150 feet of the building entrance door to such a polling place or early voting site.

Section 10(k) does not list places of worship, hospitals or other healthcare facilities, police stations, juvenile detention facilities, or licensed child care facilities. Schools are addressed separately under Section 10(j), not Section 10(k).

Penalties

Section 10(k)(1) establishes a single penalty. Whoever possesses a firearm, loaded or unloaded, in a prohibited area, and knows or reasonably should know that the location is a prohibited area, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2.5 years, or both.

The offense requires that the person knew or reasonably should have known the location was a prohibited area. Section 10(k) does not impose a tiered or heightened penalty for repeat violations.

Defense and Exemptions

Section 10(k)(4) provides a defense: it is a defense to a violation that a person holding the necessary license or card under sections 129B, 131, or 131F of chapter 140 securely stored the firearm in a vehicle while within the prohibited area, in accordance with sections 131C and 131L of chapter 140.

Section 10(k)(5) exempts currently certified chapter 6E law enforcement officers, qualified law enforcement officers and qualified retired law enforcement officers under the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (18 U.S.C. 926B and 926C), and security guards employed at the prohibited area while at the location of their employment and during the course of their employment. A chapter 6E officer qualifies only if the certification is not suspended, limited or restricted and the officer is permitted to perform police duties and functions involving firearms in accordance with chapter 6E.

Interaction with Section 10(j) School Zones

Schools are governed by Section 10(j), not Section 10(k). The provisions are separate, and Section 10(k) does not add schools to its prohibited-area list. Section 10(j) has its own exceptions and penalty structure. The broader 1,000-foot school-zone rule is federal under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(q), not part of the Massachusetts Section 10(k) list.

Signage and Notice

The statute does not require specific signage at prohibited locations. Licensees are expected to know the law. The absence of a "no firearms" sign at a government building is not itself a statutory defense under section 10(k), although the statute requires that the person knows or reasonably should know the location is a prohibited area.

See also: MGL Chapter 269, Section 10(j): Carrying a Firearm in a School Zone

See also: MGL Chapter 269, Section 10(h): Possession Without FID Compliance

See also: MGL Chapter 269, Section 10(c): Possession of a Machine Gun

See also: MGL Chapter 269, Section 11C: Untraceable Firearm Prohibition