State trooper sues agency's leader in latest challenge to Massachusetts gun laws

Boston Globe

04-04-2025

The legal complaint alleges that the State Police in other situations has allowed troopers who were also charged with crimes, including violent crimes, to carry firearms.
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The Massachusetts State Police and Stec's attorney declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
Stec's suit, while unusual for involving a state trooper suing the agency's leader, is just the latest challenge to Massachusetts' gun licensing laws that may eventually go before the state's Supreme Judicial Court.
In 2022, the nation's highest court issued a landmark ruling which found the Second Amendment prohibits states from requiring gun owners to have a 'good reason' to carry. That ruling, in what is known as
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Massachusetts gun law still allows police chiefs, who are typically the local authority in issuing licenses, to deny a license if they find the applicant 'unsuitable.' But Stec's lawsuit, along with others recently filed across the state, argues that the law is still 'vague, overly broad, incapable of valid application,' and unconstitutional under the Bruen decision.
In February, the Office of Attorney General Andrea Campbell
That case remains unresolved. On Wednesday, a Superior Court judge referred the matter back to Boston Municipal Court for an evidentiary hearing.
It is not the first time a Massachusetts resident has used the Bruen ruling to successfully overturn the denial of a concealed carry license. In May, Holyoke District Court Judge William Hadley ordered the city's police department to grant a license to a man it had deemed unsuitable because of years-old drug and domestic violence allegations. In another case, a Belchertown man successfully sued to overturn the Belchertown Police Department's denial of his license application.
Both those decisions were appealed and the cases are still pending.
Dan Glaun can be reached at