Conservatives? (Cambridge, Winchester, Leverett: appointed, unemployment, taxi)

[Cinaed]

Thank you all for the feedback, it has been very helpful! I am not a super politically motivated person and while I do live in Alaska I do not feel the need to carry a concealed weapon just because I can. However I guess a good question might be: As a single older woman with a clean record, would I even be able to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon? Mind you - not so much because I would do so, but I think yes... I would not care to live anyplace where the right to bear arms is considered evil. I am not gun happy but I am also accustomed to carrying a weapon when walking in the woods by myself. I think that perhaps the moose and bears are more predictable than their two-legged counterparts. Were I to settle in MA I would want to purchase a handgun, I don't mind going through the red tape and the hoops of the local government to obtain one. I am of the mind that if I wished to see some attraction that is known to be in a bad area, I would not choose to scratch it off the list and let hoodlums and drug dealers decide where I may safely go, I would be more likely to choose going anyway and taking a gun for protection.

[ogre]

Hmmm, from what you say here, the gun thing could be a touchy issue for you. The details get a little complicated, but this state has some of the most gun-unfriendly laws of any state.

In MA you need a permit to even own a gun legally, never mind for concealed carry. With much of New England politics, aside from affairs that are obviously statewide issues, the laws tend to be local. This is true in MA with gun permits; the discretion on whether to issue a permit lies with the police chief in the town or city where you live. A number of years back, the state attorney general at the time tried to impose a policy of allowing police chiefs complete discretion about whether to issue even the basic permit to own a gun, based on each police chief's subjective view of whether an applicant was fit to own a firearm. I have not done a careful study of this, but if I'm not mistaken the state law makes it pretty clear that you must be issued the basic license provided you have a clean record, so that AG was probably overstepping his authority. Still, even though you SHOULD have no problem obtaining the basic license to own a firearm, unless you're hunting you pretty much cannot carry anywhere in the state, openly or concealed, without a CCW permit, or some specialized permit.

As for obtaining the CCW permit you need to carry for personal protection, I have heard that police chiefs in more rural areas of the state may be more free about issuing CCW permits than those in the Boston metro area or other urban areas. However, due to the local issuance of the permits, this would still vary from town to town, with the added possibility that longtime residents might be more likely than newcomers to receive CCW permits. Even in the rural areas, getting a CCW permit is going to be very problematic. I have the impression that in the Boston area, you pretty much have to have connections to get a CCW permit. Or maybe with some police chiefs you could obtain a CCW permit if you worked as a cash courier or some such job where you'd be at particular risk of being targeted by an armed criminal. Even then, the permit would be likely to be limited to use on the job.

Bottom line: You are unlikely to be permitted to carry concealed in MA, or even to carry openly off of your own property unless you're engaged in hunting. I'm not sure, but I think that Rhode Island may be stingy about allowing concealed carry as well. As far as I know, so long as you have a clean record you should be able to obtain a CCW permit in any of the other four New England states without a doubt, though the amount of red tape involved in obtaining the permit would vary between these states. Depending on what you are looking for in a place to live, this is yet another reason that you might want to look at New Hampshire, if you're interested in being in the general vicinity of Boston, though you'd have to realize that your CCW permit from NH would not be recognized in MA if you were to travel into Boston. On the other hand, it's also true that any neighborhood you'd be likely to go to in Boston for shopping or entertainment would be very safe as big cities go. Boston's bad neighborhoods, where I personally might be inclined to pack if the state govt. would allow me, are in more outlying parts of the city where most people traveling in for a day of shopping or an evening of dining would be unlikely to go.

[Valerie C]

Hmmmmm, maybe you'd better rethink your idea of relocating to Massachusetts. As Ogre points out, MA is probably the most unfriendly state for law abiding citizens to seek gun-ownership. However, if you are a criminal who may wish to use your gun (legal or not) to rob people and stores, this state might be just what you're looking for

One night last week, in the city of Lawrence, a store was robbed by 2 armed men: "LAWRENCE — The clerk of a Milton Street bodega opened fire on two robbers with a 9 mm handgun, missing them as they fled down the city sidewalk, police said. The robbers escaped with an undetermined amount of cash, but the clerk and store owner could face charges, police Chief John Romero said yesterday." (full story here: Bodega clerk fires at robbers on sidewalk - EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA)

Reading through the story, it becomes apparent that Massachusetts laws favor the criminals with guns: "Ruben Veras could face up to 10 years in state prison and a $1,000 fine if convicted on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one year in jail if convicted on charges of illegal possession of a firearm and 90 days in jail if convicted on charges of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building. The robbers, if they are caught and convicted, face up to five years in state prison."

So apparently, it's twice as bad to commit assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (up to 10 years in prison), even if it's against criminals who have just robbed you at gunpoint, than the actual armed robbery (for up to 5 years in state prison)

Originally Posted by Cinaed

I think that perhaps the moose and bears are more predictable than their two-legged counterparts. Were I to settle in MA I would want to purchase a handgun, I don't mind going through the red tape and the hoops of the local government to obtain one. I am of the mind that if I wished to see some attraction that is known to be in a bad area, I would not choose to scratch it off the list and let hoodlums and drug dealers decide where I may safely go, I would be more likely to choose going anyway and taking a gun for protection.

[Cinaed]

Very interesting post...thank you. I think I expected most of what you said. Like I said previously I am not a gun fanatic, and I actually also have a problem with a gunpoint robbery victim shooting at the robber WHEN they are fleeing. Had they been in the business still being a threat I think the victim would be defending themselves. I feel I am a rational person and I do not think we should have the right to shoot at people (even thieves) once they are no longer a threat to our safety. What I read in the post gives me the impression he was more angry and pursuing rather than defending his life. But it does sound like New Hampshire is certainly worth a serious look as I consider where I want to settle in NE.

[carolinajack]

i was wondering where the pockest were too, i love new england, went to university up there and would love to know where other voices can be heard

[clevedark]

You should float around the different state forums and catch the flavor.

[mustmove]

MA isn't great for gun owners but it isn't as bad as its reputation. As was posted above getting a carry permit is up to the discretion of the local police chief. There is a list of gun friendly towns here:Massachusetts Laws - Northeastshooters.com
Some towns will issue carry permits as long as the individual has no prior felony/drug offense/domestic violence incidents.
The other a$$ache is that handgun models have to be approved by the state(it's complicated) so there is a bunch of stuff you can't get here, however you can move in with previously owned nonapproved handguns and LEOs are allowed to buy anything they want so if you really want a particular handgun it can often be found used but you are going to pay a premium. From what I've experienced and heard and I may be wrong RI, NJ, and NY are more restrictive than MA in most ways.
Pick a friendly town and you'll get a carry permit no problem(assuming no criminal history).

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by ogre

Regarding ValerieC's suggestion of New Hampshire, it does make sense that if you're considering the North Shore Boston suburbs, you might look a little farther north to a nearby state with politics that have historically been moderate, with a libertarian slant. Be careful about this, however. As the Boston suburbs extend into NH, that state shows signs of leaning further to the left. That is a complicated issue, though. Many people feel that NH has not really skewed to the left, or that it has but that the influx of Boston-area people is not the reason.

As the GOP has moved further and further to the right and increasingly embraced a southern based, religion-soaked moralistic tone, the party has strongly alienated Granite Staters. Bush won NH -- barely -- in 2000. Since then the Republicans have experienced a total core meltdown in NH. Bush's brand of incurious, Jesus-is-my-favorite-philosopher Republicanism was a complete and total disaster for the GOP in the northeast, particularly in live-and-let-live New Hampshire.

The GOP did not lose because it embraced spending; the party lost because it alienated moderates/independents by being too far to the right on social issues, by stubbornly supporting the unpopular Iraq war, and by squandering the party's reputation for sound management via an administration that -- from the economy to Iraq, Katrina to entitlement reform, Harriet Miers to Albert Gonazles -- engaged in daily gross incompetence.

The GOP could rise again in NH, but it will only happen after the hard-right christianist elements from Dixie are tamed in the party.

[mustmove]

Originally Posted by professorsenator

The GOP could rise again in NH, but it will only happen after the hard-right christianist elements from Dixie are tamed in the party.

Yeah we need to send em back to the Democratic party that they came from.

[ogre]

Um, if we continue in the vein of the last two posts we could be drifting dangerously close to a debate on national politics that the powers the be (aka our very own CaseyB) asked us to move away from. However, ProfessorS's post does provide an example of how complicated is the question of what political shifts, if any, are happening in NH, and what the reasons might be.

Cinaed, of course one issue is one issue, and it has to be balanced against all your reasons for wanting to move from AK and for being attracted to the Boston area. If you would prefer to be fairly close to Boston, I would suggest spending some time at the NH forum and getting an idea what New Hampshirites feel is the present tone, and likely tone in the forseeable future, of their politics. This would be true particularly if you would place a high value on being allowed to carry a gun for personal protection. That will be difficult to do legally in most or all of the Boston area.

Mustmove, given the turn this discussion has taken, good idea to include a link to info on carry-friendly towns in MA. I was just wondering, though, about the fact that the link leads to the menu for a sub-forum on MA gun laws. Which thread has the list of carry-friendly towns? As for Cinaed's purposes, though, I'm going to guess that few if any of these towns are in the Boston metro area. It would be interesting to find out, and if any of the carry-friendly towns are located near Boston this could be useful info for Cinaed, so it would be good to be pointed to the specific thread to check out.

CarolinaJack, you said you like New England, and would be interested in living in the region, so my question is whether the entire region is a possibility for you, or you're more interested in MA, or the Boston area, in particular. Reasons for wanting to move may be personal, but any thoughts you're comfortable sharing about why you think you'd like New England could help narrow down the possibilities. Of course there are a lot of factors in deciding on a place to move to, but if finding a conservative pocket is high on your list of priorities, you might start a search for such a place in the Boston area by reading through this thread and then posing questions about specific towns. If the entire New England region is a possibility, you might want to check the Maine and New Hampshire forums and ask questions of the users from those states. Just be aware that IN GENERAL the more conservative areas of Maine would be farther north, so in Maine you'd have your best chance of finding the right spot for you if you were comfortable with rural and small-town living and could handle some pretty hefty winter weather. Connecticut too has its conservative spots, but again it's a matter of finding the best fit in terms of a variety of factors. What might be the best known bastion of conservatism in CT is Fairfield County, which seems to have a good deal of old-money, blue-blood Republicanism. This might work for some people and not for others.

Another question is the importance to you of finding a state-wide view that leans more to the right, versus more of an emphasis on finding politically compatible neighbors in your local community. There are various possibilities. The spefics about what you're looking for will have a lot to do with whether some place in New England, and what place(s), would be a good fit. You do have to keep in mind, though, that the region as a whole is not known as an especially red part of the country.