EAST LONGMEADOW, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - If you’re planning to get your gun license in Massachusetts, the class you sign up for — and what you’ll pay may look very different than it did last week, or even yesterday. The state finally released a list of approved courses, but local business owners say many courses they’ve been teaching for years aren’t on it, leaving them scrambling.

Michael Meunier has spent 15 years building what he calls his best-in-class gun safety program. The state still hasn’t approved it — and he has to figure out what to do next.

Munir is the co-owner of Pioneer Valley Arms. He submitted his expert-led curriculum to the state weeks ago, developed alongside police and attorneys over 15 years. He’s heard nothing back, he calls it “crickets.”

While the state did post a list of approved courses, Meunier’s program isn’t on it. That means he’s being forced to scrap his own lesson plans and switch to an outside “cookie-cutter” program — just to keep his doors open, “We’re going to have to kind of shift on a dime and create a whole new presentation, go through a whole new narrative, which does impact the quality of the class, we’re stuck with teaching someone else’s curriculum, which is not ideal for us.”

Meunier isn’t alone, there is still massive uncertainty around the new written test and the live-fire requirement. Because the state runs no shooting ranges, instructors will have to pay private clubs for lane space — a cost that will likely be passed straight to you.

Shop owners fear that between higher fees and fewer approved instructors, the price of exercising a constitutional right is about to go up. The law is meant to improve safety — but right now, the confusion is costing the very people it’s supposed to protect."

Coming up at 6, we’ll break down why this could cost consumers more — and why some business owners worry these new hurdles might force smaller training schools to close their doors for good.

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