With the help of Attorney Jason Guida, Comm2A and GOAL have referred the City of Boston to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice following the unconscionable and outrageous pattern of LTC/FID processing delays our law abiding firearms owners have to face at the hands of the Boston Police Department, and at the hands of other municipalities in the Commonwealth.

If you have been delayed beyond the timeline the statute allows (40 Days) please reach out to us.

Contact Us

October 10, 2025
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon
United States Justice Department
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

RE: Referral for Investigation into Firearms licensing Delays in the City of Boston

Dear Assistant Attorney General Dhillon:

Commonwealth 2nd Amendment (Comm2A) and Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) are the leading state level organizations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts advocating for Second Amendment rights.

We are writing to you today with grave concerns about the continued denial of access to Second Amendment Rights by Mayor Michelle Wu, the City of Boston and the City of Boston Police Department.

The citizens of the Commonwealth have been subject to a firearms licensing system that is fraught with unreasonable and unconscionable delays for many years. The City of Boston Police Department, in particular, has developed a policy of delaying firearms licensing for upwards of 8 months or more and continues to do so with impunity.

This statement is not hyperbole – in a recent state court challenge to these unreasonable delays, the Boston Police Department and an attorney from the City of Boston defended their 8 to 10 month licensing delays as being fair and constitutional. The courts in the State of Massachusetts continue to dodge the obvious constitutional violations and refuse to provide a remedy.

With the renewed interest the Justice Department has shown in identifying state and local agencies that unlawfully infringe upon the Constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans, Comm2A & GOAL implore you to investigate the process in the City of Boston. Please help us finally put an end to the treatment of the Second Amendment as a lower class right and broadcast a warning to other cities and towns in Massachusetts that continue to slow-walk the firearms licensing process.
Please find attached the transcript and ruling from Baas-Thomas v. City of Boston outlining the sworn testimony and facts of this case which is representative of hundreds, if not thousands, of residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Christopher Martel
Executive Director
Commonwealth Second Amendment
PO Box 1512
Framingham, MA 01702

Mike Harris
Director of Public Policy
Gun Owners’ Action League
287 Turnpike Road, Suite 115
Westborough, MA 01581