The Massachusetts Gun Owners Action League has leaped to the defense of a 23-year-old Bay State resident who is now facing multiple counts of firearms law violations in a case which began as a protection order and has grown to possession of “assault-style firearms” and alleged “untraceable firearms.”
GOAL Executive Director Jim Wallace, in a telephone interview with TGM, said troubles began for Samuel Lacus when his girlfriend filed for a protection order back in March, which was served and then dropped following court hearing. Lacus is a West Springfield License to Carry (LTC) holder who now faces the myriad charges as a result of two-year-old Chapter 135.
“This is a bomb that we have been waiting to be dropped on someone post Chapter 135,” Wallace said in a prepared statement posted at the GOAL website. “There are so many unconstitutional layers to this case that it could be a landmark judicial scenario effecting hundreds of thousands of lawful citizens. From the beginning GOAL has taken a very conservative approach when advising the 2A community about these new laws. We have often taken criticism for “over reacting”, but this case is precisely why we have taken that stance.”
At the website, GOAL explains, “The case addresses many of the issues facing lawful gun owners after the passage of Chapter 135 in 2024.
In the arrest report:
- It is claimed that an AR lower is in fact an assault style firearm and the same goes with an upper. It is also the first time we have heard the term – “finished lower/upper”. That term does not appear in the law.
- The charges of unserialized lowers are concerning since the law states:
Chapter 140, Section 121C: All firearms shall have a serial number in accordance with the requirements of this section within one year after the online serialization system is available…
GOAL had agreed back in April to fund Lacus’ defense. At the time, Wallace noted in a report at the GOAL website, “Because police departments in the Commonwealth have not been properly trained on the new firearms laws created under Chapter 135, they wrongfully charged Mr. Lacus with 6 felony counts of untraceable firearms and 5 felony counts of possession of ‘assault style firearms.’”
“We are nearly two years after the passage of one of the worst attacks on the Second Amendment in United State history and we have still not seen an effort by the state to educate law enforcement, prosecutors or the judiciary,” Wallace said at the time. “This abdication of the Commonwealth’s responsibility is putting lawful citizens in unnecessary legal jeopardy and ruining lives.”
According to GOAL, “Attorney Dan Hagan agreed to represent Mr. Lacus in court and on Friday, June 5, following discussions with the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors exercised their discretion and declined to seek an indictment, and dismissed all of the “assault style firearms” charges due to Attorney Hagan’s arguments that they were improper. This is because the grandfathering clauses in Chapter 135 bring ownership dates into question and the police report uses terms that do not appear in the law.”
“This is a great day for Mr. Lacus, but it is also a great day for GOAL, its members, and the Massachusetts firearms community as a whole,” said Hagan, who serves on the GOAL Board of Directors, in a report at the group’s website. “GOAL’s advocacy and education efforts are making a real difference. I am sure that law enforcement and prosecutors are listening and it is beginning to be reflected in their charging decisions. GOAL fights on every front: legislative, legal, and educational. Today’s result is proof that a strong organization, backed by engaged members, can move the needle. Even in a state as hostile to gun rights as Massachusetts.”
