FCAB Roster Subcommittee Memo: Inclusion of Rifles and Shotguns on the Approved Firearms Roster

Authority

G.L. c. 140, §§ 121, 123, 131¾; St. 2024, c. 135

From: Firearm Control Advisory Board Members
To: Secretary of Public Safety and Security Terrence M. Reidy
Date on the memo: February 14, 2025

The question

Whether the amended definition of "firearm" in An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws, St. 2024,
c. 135 requires rifles and shotguns to be incorporated into the § 123 testing process and thus
placed on the approved firearms roster. The FCAB Roster Subcommittee was established to evaluate
the "necessity and feasibility" of doing so.

The textual problem

G.L. c. 140, § 131¾, as amended in 2024, requires compilation of "a roster of firearms approved
for sale and use in the commonwealth using the parameters set forth in section 123." Section 121
defines "firearm" as:

The memo concedes that "[t]he plain language of the updated definition appears to include rifles
and shotguns within the universe of weapons to be tested and included in the roster." Its
counterweight is § 121's own preamble: the defined words "shall, unless the context clearly
requires otherwise, have the following meanings" (memo's emphasis). So the context of § 131¾
governs.

The subcommittee's reasoning

• Original purpose of the 1998 testing regime. § 123 testing was aimed at "an influx of cheap, dangerous handguns prone to catastrophic failure" — material strength, drop-induced accidental discharge, misfiring/exploding, and short-range accuracy. Handguns are smaller, more commonly carried for self-defense, often drawn one-handed, thus more likely to be dropped.
• Physical incompatibility of the tests. Rifles and shotguns have long barrels, are carried with two hands or a sling, and are fired at distance. The drop test requires positions "incompatible with rifles and shotguns," including on the grip (which many lack), on the hammer (not commonly positioned for drop exposure), and on the muzzle (far longer than a handgun's).
• Legislative choice not to conform the tests. Despite many changes in the 2024 Act, the Legislature did not adjust the testing requirements to fit the broader class of "firearms" — suggesting no intent to extend testing beyond handguns.
• The "frame" / "receiver" tell. § 123(o)(i) still refers to "a firearm that has a frame, barrel, cylinder, slide, or breechblock" — it was not amended to add "receiver." Handguns are built around frames; rifles and shotguns around receivers. Meanwhile the Legislature did expressly add "frame or receiver" to the § 121 definition and did add ammunition to § 123's sales-record provisions. The omission "must be given some import."
• Reductio. The amended definition sweeps in items presumptively unlawful to possess (sawed-off shotguns, assault-style firearms, machine guns) and items testing cannot reach (stun guns, frames, receivers). Reading § 123 to require testing of everything defined as a "firearm" would mean "evaluating plainly illegal items for inclusion on the roster," which "clearly could not have been the intent of the Legislature."