Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XX Chapter 140
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 131L (2026)

Weapons stored or kept by owner; inoperable by any person other than owner or lawfully authorized user; punishment

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 131L. (a) It shall be unlawful to store or keep any firearm in any place unless such firearm is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such firearm inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. It shall be unlawful to store or keep any stun gun in any place unless such firearm is secured in a locked container accessible only to the owner or other lawfully authorized user. For purposes of this section, such firearm shall not be deemed stored or kept if carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user.

(b) A violation of this section shall be punished, in the case of a that is not a large capacity firearm or machine gun, by a fine of not less than $1000 nor more than $7,500 or by imprisonment for not more than 11/2 years or by both such fine and imprisonment and, in the case of a large capacity or semiautomatic weapon or machine gun, by a fine of not less than $2,000 nor more than $15,000 or by imprisonment for not less than 11/2 years nor more than 12 years or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(c) A violation of this section shall be punished, in the case of a that is not a large capacity firearm or machine gun and the firearm was stored or kept in a place where a person younger than 18 years of age who does not possess a valid firearm identification card issued under section 129B may have access without committing an unforeseeable trespass, by a fine of not less than $2,500 nor more than $15,000 or by imprisonment for not less than 11/2 years nor more than 12 years or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(d) A violation of this section shall be punished, in the case of a rifle or shotgun that is a large capacity weapon, firearm or machine gun that was stored or kept in a place where a person younger than 18 years of age may have access without committing an unforeseeable trespass, by a fine of not less than $10,000 nor more than $20,000 or by imprisonment for not less than 4 years nor more than 15 years or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(e) A violation of the provisions of this section shall be evidence of wanton or reckless conduct in any criminal or civil proceeding if a person under the age of 18 who was not a trespasser or was a foreseeable trespasser acquired access to a firearm, unless such person possessed a valid firearm identification card issued under section 129B and was permitted by law to possess such firearm, and such access results in the personal injury to or the death of any person.

(f) This section shall not apply to the storage or keeping of any firearm, rifle or shotgun with matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap or similar type of ignition system manufactured in or prior to the year 1899, or to any replica of any such firearm, rifle or shotgun if such replica is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 53 cases (15 in the last 5 years), 2004–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Runyan, 922 N.E.2d 794 (Mass. 2010).
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Commonwealth v. Runyan, 922 N.E.2d 794 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 13× “The defendant was charged in the Lowell Division of the District Court Department with storing or keeping a firearm that was not “secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such…”
Commonwealth v. Reyes, 982 N.E.2d 504 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 8× “140, § 131C (a) (carrying statute), and unlawfully storing a firearm (after leaving it in his motor vehicle) in violation of G. L. c. 140, § 131L (a) and (b) (storage statute).”
Commonwealth v. Edwards, 67 N.E.3d 1224 (Mass. 2017). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 140, § 131L (gun storage statute).”
Commonwealth v. Parzick, 835 N.E.2d 1171 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005). · cites it 6× “A jury found the defendant, Stephen Parzick, guilty of improper storage of a firearm in violation of G. L. c. 140, § 131L, and possession of a firearm without a valid firearm identification (FID) card, in violation of G.”
Jupin v. Kask, 447 Mass. 141 (Mass. 2006). “See G. L. c. 140, § 131L (a) (“It shall be unlawful to store or keep any firearm .”
Commonwealth v. McGowan, 982 N.E.2d 495 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 3× “Do the holdings in Heller and McDonald , under the circumstances of this motion, so conflict with the requirements of G. L. c. 140, § 131L (a), as to render the Massachusetts statute constitutionally unenforceable? “2.”
Commonwealth v. Tiscione, 124 N.E.3d 690 (Mass. 2019). · cites it 2× “269, § 10 ( h ), or that the firearms were improperly stored under **495 G. L. c. 140, § 131L ( a ) and ( b ). Thus, based on the evidence at trial, the defendant was not entitled to a required finding of not guilty on the charges pertaining to the shotgun.”
Chief of Police of the City of Worcester v. Holden, 26 N.E.3d 715 (Mass. 2015). “In that case, we held that G. L. c. 140, § 131L (a), was “consistent with the right of self-defense in the home because it does not interfere with the ability of a licensed gun owner to carry or keep a loaded firearm under his immediate control for self-defense,” but requires…”
Chardin v. Police Comm'r, 989 N.E.2d 392 (Mass. 2013). “Unlike the law declared unconstitutional in Heller , we have upheld the constitutionality of G. L. c. 140, § 131L (a), which makes it unlawful to store a firearm that is not carried by or under the immediate control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user unless such…”
Coombes v. Florio, 450 Mass. 182 (Mass. 2007). “We imposed this duty after careful consideration of the extremely dangerous nature of the instrumentality, a statutory framework that required gun owners to ensure that their firearms were “ ‘secured in a locked container’ when stored” (G. L. c. 140, § 131L [a]), and after…”
Commonwealth v. Tapia, 978 N.E.2d 534 (Mass. 2012). “The firearm charges include possession of a large capacity firearm, G. L. c. 269, § 10 (m), possession of a firearm with the serial number defaced, G.”
United States v. Monell, 801 F.3d 34 (1st Cir. 2015). “The second crime, mentioned for the first time in a footnote in the government's brief, is illegal storage of a firearm under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 131L. For simplicity, we focus our treatment not on these two crimes, but on assault with a dangerous weapon.”
Show all 53 citing cases →
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 131L(a) — 9 cases
Opalenik v. LaBrie, 945 F. Supp. 2d 168 (D. Mass. 2013).
Commonwealth v. Dillon, 945 N.E.2d 428 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011).
Commonwealth v. Cantelli, 982 N.E.2d 52 (Mass. App. Ct. 2013).
Commonwealth v. Lojko, 928 N.E.2d 679 (Mass. App. Ct. 2010).
Bone v. Attorney Gen., 150 F. Supp. 3d 140 (D. Mass. 2015).
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