Last year in Boston, about half of all guns traced by police had out-of-state origins

Just under half of all the guns Boston police confiscated after they were used for crime last year came from outside Massachusetts, the department said Thursday. Of 667 guns analyzed for their origins, 333 of them were from out of state, and 138 from the Bay State. As for the rest, their origin is unknown, said Sgt. John Boyle, a department spokesman. The breakdown gives a glimpse as to the course weapons travel before they are used in violent crimes on the city’s streets. Statistics for guns the department traced for this year are not yet available. Boston police Sergeant Detective Catherine Doherty, who works in the department’s forensic firearms analysis unit, said that the state’s strict gun laws and the paucity of gun shops in Greater Boston prompts some to look outside of Massachusetts for firearms. “We have the best gun laws and we have one of the lowest crime rates in the United States as a result directly of those laws,” she said. Massachusetts has the lowest gun death rate in country in 2016, according to Center for Disease Control data, and the state’s gun safety laws are considered to be stringent by US standards. States like New Hampshire and Maine are considered to have looser gun laws. The licensing process for guns in Massachusetts gives police chiefs wide discretion to approve or reject applications. Chiefs can deny licenses to people deemed to be a threat. Applicants must also clear a state background check. Gun dealers are […]

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