Massachusetts trial court says gun storage law unconstitutional

Followup to a previous Roundup item, via Volokh we have more details on the recent ruling by a trial court, in the People's Commonwealth of Massachusetts no less, holding that state's gun storage law unconstitutional due to the Supreme Court's Heller ruling:

... Last month, the court held the statute was unconstitutional (Commonwealth v. Bolduc), and dismissed the prosecution. I only just now managed to get a copy of the opinion, and here's the relevant discussion:

The locking mechanisms [required by the statute] are the functional equivalent of those enumerated in the D.C. statute struck down in Heller.

In Heller, the Court held that the Second Amendment not only protects an individual's right to possess firearms but that the right requires that the firearms be available for "the purpose of immediate self-defense." The Massachusetts statute mandating lock boxes or similar devices would frustrate an owner's ability to immediately access an operable weapon.

Although the statute exempts firearms that are "carried" or "under the control of the owner" from the requirement that they be locked, the statute applies to the lawful owner of a firearm even when he is at home. People can be subject to prosecution whether they are home or not. The term "under the control of the owner" is a question of fact and subject to interpretation. Any ambiguity in the statute as applied to a person lawfully keeping a firearm in the home must be resolved in favor of the holder of the right. Legislation requiring an owner to store firearms in a place inaccessible to children or unauthorized persons would satisfy the Supreme Court's holding in Heller and protect the safety of others.

In light of the foregoing, the Court finds that, based on the Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, G.L.c. 140, sec. 131L is unconstitutional.

...

Read the full post here. The state trial judge obviously implicitly believes that the Second Amendment also applies to the states. Professor Volokh, citing a Mass. Lawyers Weekly article, says that the state has decided not to appeal.

Note that the trial court's (Mass. District Court) opinion is not binding legal precedent on any other Massachusetts court.

Read the short trial court opinion here.