Whether the imposition of a mandatory eighteen-month jail sentence on a first offender for what might well be an entirely innocent regulatory infraction converts the Commonwealth's licensing regime from a reasonable regulation of the right to bear arms into an unconstitutional infringement thereon

QUESTION PRESENTED The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires its citizens to get permission from their local police departments before they can exercise their right to bear arms. Anyone who carries a firearm for self-defense without first securing a government-issued license is branded a felon and subjected to up to five years in state prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of eighteen months that cannot be reduced or deferred in any way. This draconian punishment is imposed even on otherwise law-abiding citizens, regardless of whether they had any idea that such pre-approval was required for the exercise of their fundamental rights. The question presented is whether the imposition of a mandatory eighteen-month jail sentence on a first offender for what might well be an entirely innocent regulatory infraction converts the Commonwealth’s licensing regime from a reasonable regulation of the right to bear arms into an unconstitutional infringement thereon.