The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has been busy filing pattern and practice lawsuits around the country, arguing that the enforcement of certain gun control laws is depriving people of their civil right to own a firearm. So far, the DOJ hasn't brought any litigation against Massachusetts police departments, but that may just be because there are too many targets to choose from.
Not long ago we reported on a woman who's facing felony charges for having a legally-owned firearm in her purse as she was traveling through the state to New Hampshire, despite the fact that Massachusetts law explicitly allows for that.
Now the Gun Owners Action League is highlighting another recent arrest: an active duty member of the Air Force named Dreson Robertson who is also facing felony charges after a "random" traffic stop. In this case, two of the charges that have been filed against him aren't a crime either, or at least won't be until the law changes in a couple of months.
In the incident described in the report, an officer ran a license plate at a traffic light with reason of suspicion. According to the officer, in running the random check the system alerted there was no driver’s license connected to the vehicle registration. This resulted in the officer conducting a stop.
During the encounter, the driver, thinking he was doing the right thing, voluntarily disclosed that a firearm was in the center console and identified a second firearm beneath the driver’s seat. Officers searched the vehicle, seized both firearms, magazines, and ammunition, and filed felony charges.
Two of those charges were failure to register a firearm. (That law does not take effect until October 2026.) There was another charge of a large capacity feeding device, one 15 round magazine.
“Once Mr. Robertson had presented his License to Carry, that is where it should have ended, everything after that is a witch hunt,” said Jim Wallace Executive Director of GOAL. “These frequent traffic stops leading to felony charges, even false ones, cannot be a coincidence. There is obviously some sort of coordinated effort in the Commonwealth to destroy anyone who dares to exercise their Second Amendment Rights. They are using the legal process as the punishment. Even when you eventually win, your life is likely destroyed.”
Attorney Dan Hagan, who's representing the airman with the financial support of GOAL, maintains that none of the charges filed actually applies to the circumstances the circumstances of the traffic stop and Robertson’s ultimate arrest.
Yet here he is, facing charges, including a serious felony, because the police and the legislature got it wrong. Shame on the officers who brought these charges, and shame on the legislature for passing this nonsense in the first place. With GOAL’s help, we’re going fight like hell to vindicate this young member of our military.
Hagan has a great track record, but he's also been frustrated with how these cases tend to play out. When he joined me on Cam & Company back in June, we discussed several other cases where police and prosecutors are either confused about the state's gun control laws or just don't care if someone's violating them or not.
We'll be speaking with Hagan again before long, and I'm sure he'll have even more abuses to discuss when we do.
In the meantime, what should gun owners do when traveling through Massachusetts? I think the best advice is to avoid the state entirely if possible, but if you do have to cross its borders, keep in mind that local and state law enforcement are actively enforcing non-existent laws. Your best bet would be to follow the federal Firearm Owners Protection Act's regulations on interstate transportation of firearms: keep them locked and unloaded in part of the vehicle inaccessible to the driver while passing through Massachusetts.
Keep in mind as well that though the ATF is proposing to change its interpretation of FOPA to allow for incidental stops for things like getting gas, a meal, or even a decent night's sleep at a hotel, that is not the current interpretation of the statute. With law enforcement in Massachusetts seemingly going out of its way to target lawful gun owners, I'd make sure I don't need to gas up or take a pee break while driving through what was once the cradle of liberty.
