BOSTON - The Gun Owners' Action League of Massachusetts (GOAL) today released an excerpt of a recent interview with Boston Police Commissioner William Evans in which Evans indicates that there is no reason for anyone to have a rifle or shotgun in the City of Boston. GOAL denounced Evans' statement saying that his mentality on gun licensing demonstrates exactly why GOAL is advocating against giving the Commonwealth's police chiefs more discretion in gun licensing. 

"No law-abiding, United States citizen deserves to have his or her civil rights arbitrarily decided on by the whim of a police chief - our country, and especially the City of Boston, has a long, dark history where that is concerned," said Jim Wallace, Executive Director of GOAL. "Commissioner Evans' comments showcase the exact capricious nature of some police chiefs that we are trying to guard our 2nd Amendment civil rights against."

Commissioner Evans:            "Nobody needs a rifle or shotgun"

An amendment to the recently passed gun violence bill, passed in the Senate last week, removed a measure expanding police chiefs discretion for issuing Firearm Identification Cards (FID) which people obtain to own a rife or shotgun.  Evans was a featured speaker at a press conference this week held in support of restoring the discretionary gun licensing language found int he House bill.

Evans' comments came during an WBUR interview on Wednesday night.  Listen to the full recording here starting at around the 8:00 minute mark:  WBUR INTERVIEW