Massachusetts Mandates Course for New Hunters Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has signed legislation that now requires all new hunters to successfully pass a basic hunter education course as a prerequisite for purchasing a hunting license. Since 1998, most people with a Massachusetts license to carry firearms or a firearms identification card had automatically qualified to purchase hunting licenses. “It puts the Commonwealth on par with the rest of the country,” said state Sen. Robert A. Antonioni. The legislation was proposed by the Worcester County League of Sportsmen and was supported by the Gun Owner’s Action League, and it actually restores a requirement that existed prior to 1998, reports The Boston Globe.