“Damn, run with a gun.”
Not in Massachusetts you don’t... it’s a “may issue” state for handguns, which really means “hardly ever issue” when it comes to Boston and the liberal suburban areas.
I’d argue that what is the right thing to do may not always be legal. Tried by 12 rather than carried by six. Your milage may vary. If she had broken the law by carrying, she might be alive, who knows.
In my town the police are very pro-2A and make the process as easy as possible under the law. Other towns don’t issue carry permits, period. Most towns are in the middle — although the process is more of a PITA than most states, it’s still perfectly doable for most people to get a carry license. The main reason most people don’t own/carry firearms here is simply because they don’t want to. There is no gun culture such as it exists in more conservative areas of the country.