The Memorial Drive Rampage and Why It Matters

The shooting in Cambridge, Massachusetts last month is a reminder of a painful lesson: Gun Control isn’t about safety, it is about control.

The example shown in broad daylight for all to see was a career criminal who was released early by the Massachusetts Parole Board (no surprise there) walking down Memorial Drive in broad daylight, shooting indiscriminately. 

Tyler Brown, by most standards, should have been behind bars for a long period of time. Unfortunately for the Citizens of the Commonwealth, he was given “another chance” that he didn’t deserve by Judge Sanders. She ignored the request of 10-12 years from disgraced DA Rachel Rollins and sentenced him to 5 to 6 years, of which he served 4 for attempted murder of two police officers. I guess history has a way of repeating itself. On May 16, 2020, Tyler Brown exchanged gunfire with police and fired 13 rounds at officers who responded to a man with a gun call. 

It comes as no surprise that Tyler Brown was a convicted felon in possession of a gun while committing another crime. His prior record stems from a 2014 case involving witness intimidation and assault with a dangerous weapon. That felony conviction made him legally ineligible for a firearms license in any state—yet it didn’t stop him from obtaining and using one during his 2020 shootout with Boston police.

That brings us to the 2020 sentence and how egregious it really was. Under the MA Career Criminal Act, there are severe sentencing guidelines, called stacking, that were completely ignored by the Judge.

Brown should have been in jail as a repeat offender for wielding a high-capacity firearm (Glock .40 Caliber pistol in 2020). It should have aggregated into a functional life sentence, starting at a baseline of 30 to 45+ years of mandatory time before parole eligibility even becomes an option. 

Chapter 135 — the 122-page omnibus bill pushed by Beacon Hill politicians, Governor Maura Healey, and the broader anti-civil rights movement — was sold to the public as a major step toward making us all safer. It has failed miserably. Instead, we’re left playing a dangerous game of Whack-A-Mole with an ever-growing web of laws that carry felony consequences for even unintentional violations. One misstep can lead to criminal charges or, worse, being held without bail for 120 days — just as Airman Kyle Culotta discovered. He had been in Massachusetts for less than 48 hours when he unknowingly ran afoul of these rules.

But nothing for the violent, career criminal. All Chapter 135 does is restrict and encumber lawful, peaceful citizens. The entirety of the bill doesn’t deal with criminals. It only seeks to criminalize good people for minor technical violations. Just ask Samuel Lacas, a student on the Dean’s List, from East Springfield, whose life is about to be ruined by the Commonwealth for lawfully purchased items that the state has changed the rules about. What happened to Ex Post Facto? I guess it isn’t as important as the State keeping us all “safe”. It is for your own good!

Here is a partial list of the laws Tyler Brown broke:

• Carrying a Firearm Without a License (G.L. c. 269, § 10(a)) (again)

• Possession of a Large-Capacity Weapon / Semi-Automatic Rifle 

• Possession of a large-capacity feeding device

• Possession of an assault weapon (or features banned under MA law)

• Possession of Ammunition Without an FID Card (G.L. c. 269, § 10(h)) 

• Attempted Assault and Battery by Means of Discharging a Firearm 

• Discharging a Firearm Within 500 Feet of a Building (G.L. c. 269, § 12E) 

• Illegal possession of a Short Barreled Rifle (SBR) (Federal Law).

• Armed Assault with Intent to Murder 

• Subsequent Offense Multipliers 

Here is a list of things Mr. Brown forgot to do, but you must if you would like to exercise the privilege…er Right to Keep and Bear Arms:

• Take a government-mandated live fire class for a fee

• Apply for an LTC and pay another fee to the local PD.

• Get fingerprinted

• Get photographed

• Give character references

• List all prior arrests and dispositions

• Have an interview with the Chief of Police

• Give a reason why he would like an LTC

• Have his name run through agencies for any actions that would prohibit him

• Allow the Dept of Criminal Justice Information Services to maintain him in the database and keep track of his personal property.

• Wait 3 to 18 months for LTC to come in.

• Fill out a Form 4 for an SBR and pay a $200.00 transfer tax to the federal gov. If obtained before January 1 2025. This process requires fingerprints, photographs, and an extensive background check by the Feds and can take months.

• Remember to bring his LTC and pin number issued by the state, and conduct another background check when purchasing a firearm. 

This is not exhaustive, but you get the picture. Now, apply this list to any other rights. 

We should focus on criminal control rather than the inefficient application of unconstitutional restrictions on law-abiding citizens. Attempting to reduce violent crime by over-regulating peaceful people is fundamentally flawed—it is like trying to eliminate drunk driving by making it harder for sober drivers to buy and operate a car. 

In a victim impact statement, one of the officers targeted in the 2020 attack wrote:  “I am a firm believer that when Mr. Tyler Brown gets out, he will hurt, or worse, kill someone,” the officer said. “Probation apparently means nothing to Mr. Tyler Brown, nor does the value of life.” 

Unfortunately, he was right. Don’t let anyone confuse you. Gun control is only about control…they don’t care about your safety.

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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