Mass. Sees Surge in Gun Licenses Last Year

The number of permits to carry a gun surged in Massachusetts last year in the months before the Legislature passed a gun control bill that tightened the state's already strict firearms laws.

A Boston Globe analysis of state data found that the number of active Class A licenses - the license to carry category that includes the right to carry a concealed weapon - grew nearly 12 percent from 2013 and 2014. That was a significantly greater jump than in past years.

Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, says in the months prior to the law's signing, many gun owners feared licenses would be restricted or even eliminated, so "people wanted to make sure they got the license in case the state did something to limit them."