By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the Massachusetts Court of Appeals says a wife cannot be denied an application for a license to carry (LTC) because of past incidents involving her husband.
In a case known as Guinane v. Chief of Police of Manchester-by-the-Sea, the court ruled that Bay State resident Barbara Guinane’s LTC application should not have been denied because her husband had been involved in some neighborhood incidents, resulting in the suspension of his carry license by the local police chief.
Writing for the court, Justice Peter Sacks noted, “Although the chief was understandably concerned about public safety, there was no reliable information about behavior by the applicant suggesting that, if issued a license, she would create a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to herself or others. That is the focus of the standard.”
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, which was not involved in the case, offered accolades to the court.
“This is a proper ruling which recognizes that one person may not be penalized because of the behavior of another person, even a spouse,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “The police chief acknowledged during court testimony there was ‘no behavior by Guinane suggesting that her licensure might create a safety risk.’ You can’t deny one person’s rights based on another person’s past behavior.”
According to an article in Reason, the case dates back to October 2022 when Guinane applied for her LTC and the police chief “found Guinane unsuitable and denied the application. The chief did so based on recent incidents in which Guinane’s husband had acted aggressively and violently during disputes with neighbors, resulting in multiple police responses to the Guinanes’ home.”
Mrs. Guinane sued. The case made its way through district and Superior courts and finally landed in the Court of Appeals.
Justice Sacks was joined in his 14-page opinion by Justices Gregory Massing and Jennifer Allen. Near the end of his ruling, Sacks wrote, “Absent the evidentiary support required by (law), the chief’s concerns, while plainly understandable, were not sufficiently ‘reasonable and legitimate’ to warrant a determination of unsuitability. As the statute makes clear, denial of an LTC application cannot be based on speculation.”
“Even in Massachusetts,” Gottlieb commented, “common sense can prevail in gun-related cases. Mrs. Guinane’s small personal victory could translate into something more significant for other Bay State residents who may face similar circumstances.”
