[Keith]

Let's reward gun friendly destinations with our money!

I took the family down to the Dominican Republic a couple of years ago for a winter break and was impressed with the apparent gun friendliness of the country. It's now a stable democracy and the economy is picking up as it gets "discovered". A great place to vacation.

I noticed a lot of people carrying various handguns - hard to hide a 1911 in tropical clothes. Many of the more well-off people had guards on their property, usually toting a Mossberg, but at times you'd see an MP5 or something like that. As you'd expect, we didn't see any street crime. People are very friendly and polite. The large cities are kind of run down and scary in some neighborhoods, but the small towns are beautiful, almost idyllic.

Anyway, we REALLY liked the DR, and are looking seriously at buying property down there while things are still cheap. I started to wonder about the gun laws - maybe it was a California type thing where only those who raise money for the local mayor can get a permit...
Nope! You can even get a temporary tourist permit to carry your piece with a quick stop at any police station! Is that cool or what? Next time I go, I'll be packing! And if I ever move down there or just get a winter place, I can buy any full auto weapon I want and can afford - full auto (.45 caliber or under) is totally legal! That will mean any burglar at my place will be facing a Thompson with a drum magazine!

Anyway, the DR is the cheapest destination in the caribbean AND you can carry your favorite piece while you're there. I think all of us should reward the DR for its sane laws by spending our money there and telling everyone we meet that one of the reasons we are there is because of their gun friendly posture.

Some more info here: http://www.packing.org/news/article.jsp/5009/

Keith

[TallPine]

Course if you're visitng, you have to take your carry gun in UNLOCKED checked luggage.

Unless you have your own boat .......

[Keith]

Good point!

I knew I had those cheap FEG's for a reason!

Keith

[Aikibiker]

That sounds like a great country. Does anybody know how to get contact information for their tourism or state department so that we can get more information?

Also what are the laws regarding bringing a firearm, that you have taken out of the country back into the USA? Are there import fees or tariffs? Forms to fill out? Or do you just put it in your luggage and keep your mouth shut? I would hate to have my pistol confiscated by the border patrol after returning from a vacation.

Heck can I buy a Makarov or something else for cheap at a DR gunshop legally and then dispose of it before returning to the states?

I haven't done much in the way of foreign travel so I just have no idea how all this stuff works.

Thanks guys,

[Keith]

I don't know the answers to those questions. But, I'll be finding out before I visit again.

Keith

[Aikibiker]

When you find out post here, inquiring minds want to know.

Maybe we could get somebody from The Dominican Republic to join THR?

[Logistar]

I was advised that you could obtain a temporary permit for the Virgin Islands if you had one in the states. I wrote to them but never received a reply.

I asked the cruise line I was using and they told me that bringing a gun was not a good idea... in fact they thought it would not be possible. -Didn't pursue it past that however. I had won a trip to the Virgin Islands last March and really didn't have time to prepare anyway. Guns got left at home.

Logistar

[4v50 Gary]

I think you apply with the State Dept. for a permit to take a gun out. I had asked ATF years ago and they said they're were only concerned with importation of firearms. I asked them why the State Dept. had jurisdiction and they told me that they didn't want classified technology or weaponry to leave to an unfriendly nation. So, even if your S&W or Colt Python lockwork was designed well over a century ago, you get your permit to export (and reimport) from the State. It may have all changed since 9-11.

The one with first hand experience is Rich. He hunts overseas.

[Keith]

Well, people take guns in and out all the time so I'm sure it's not a problem.

Keith

[Erick Gelhaus]

Learned this as a result of hunting across the pond...

Go to a designated US Customs facility near you. Generally these will be at a port facility of some sort: air, ship, etc.

Bring those valuables with you that you'll be taking out of the country. This includes high end electronics, camera & firearms.

You'll make contact with a Customs officer and ask for a Form 4572, 3 or 5. (sorry the exact number escapes me as mine is buried right now). It is a single copy form.

You fill out the form - yourself - and the Customs officer verifies the serial numbers on the items & the form.

When you leave the country, take the form with you so that you can show it to Customs on return.

Pretty easy, if you live close enough to a Customs House.

Erick

[Guntalk]

>>Course if you're visitng, you have to take your carry gun in UNLOCKED checked luggage.<<

Nope. Immediately after issuing that order, the TSA folks realized that guns were different. Take your guns in locked case to the ticket counter, have them check them, then lock them again. No problem.

[MacPelto]

Nope. Immediately after issuing that order, the TSA folks realized that guns were different. Take your guns in locked case to the ticket counter, have them check them, then lock them again. No problem.

Exactly. When I flew last month, the ticket counter told TSA it was coming, and had me wait around in case they wanted to open it. They didn't, and I picked it up from the baggage claim rep on the far side - The End.

[Pawcatch]

I've always wondered why the DR has one of the lowest homicide rates in Latin America and the Carribean.Now I know.

[PATH]

Well I hope it remains gun friendly!

[Bainx]

"Heck can I buy a Makarov or something else for cheap at a DR gunshop legally and then dispose of it before returning to the states?"

Of course, Aikibiker, you mean
sell it before returning to the states. ;)

[Dave R]

I spent a week in the DR 2 years ago. Didn't even think to ask about brining my carry pistol.

But I can reaffirm that this is a great place to visit. All the great scenery and water sports of the Carribean, and a friendly, educated populace. These folks even dress well. And dance well. Dancing is like the national pastime.

[Aikibiker]

Bainx:

Selling is good, but if I can't take something with me and I fall in love with it I might want to give it away to somebody that will enjoy it as much as I would. Or better yet give it to somebody who can't afford a weapon of their own but needs one desperately. The more gunnies their are the better right?

I also remember that it was a tradition for hunters on Safari to give their rifles to their native guide after a particularly successful hunt. I don't think I would do that with a custom big bore rifle, but a cheap military surplus pistol that I couldn't bring back to the country anyway.... If in a good cause I will pass it on and take a loss on it. Preacherman would call it sowing seed, some others I know would call it building good karma, others practicing the golden rule, take your pick.

This is all assuming it would be legal, if not it's off to the local pawn shop I go.

[Keith]

Hey, be aware of the following. I'm not sure yet what hoop needs to be jumped through, but don't just pack your piece without contacting the Domican Consul first!

http://travel.state.gov/dominican_republic.html

Consular Information Sheet

CUSTOMS REGULATIONS: Dominican customs authorities strictly enforce regulations concerning the importation of firearms. Persons bringing firearms into the country, even temporarily, may face jail sentences and heavy fines. It is advisable to contact the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Washington, D.C. or one of the Dominican Republic's consulates in the United States for specific information regarding customs requirements.

[Sven]

BUMP! Get your suntan lotion and grab the Glock, we're heading to a place near paradise!

[Porter Glockwell]

That's it... I've found my retirement nation when I expatriate myself at 65...

Porter

[stevelyn]

I think all of us should reward the DR by spending our money there........

A vacation is not in the works for me for a while. Would an order for a couple boxes of Arturo Fuentes' count??:D :D

[Skunkabilly]

OOoh, I wonder if I can pack my Beretta 93 ARRRRRRRR!!! :D

[cpileri]

Why don't we all pitch in some $$. Then send someone down to scout out a pad and buy it in all our names.

We can take turns living/visiting there so that it is occupied all year, and store indigenously purchased firearms in the house. that way there is no importation hassle. And the guns are at least going to be used and cleaned periodically.

Of course, we all have to trus tone another. And the laws have to allow group ownership, so we may need a lawyer to look into all the legalities of international ownership of private residences, etc.

But getting in on it while it is still cheap sounds great.

Try to buy somewhere with some land around it so that if anyone wants to retire there permanently, there is land to build his/her individual dwelling without screwing up the time-sharing vacation pad for the rest of us!

C-

[dav]

Great idea, cpileri! I do the timeshare thing already, and it works great. Only trouble is, everybody here wants a different firearm, so we would need a *really large* safe in the house! :D

[Keith]

For those who have PM'd me - an update:

Things are not going well in the Dominican Republic. The new president is a left leaning jerk by the name of Mejia (or "Hipolito", the Little Hippo) who has begun taxing and regulating all the foreign investment, and ... enriching himself and his followers. Not surprisingly, since the election the Dominican peso has gone into free fall and the economy has gone into the toilet as investors begin to pull out. The nations leading bank has collapsed under the strain, services (electricity) are becoming unreliable in the large cities, crime is rising... All of this in the last six to eight months.

It's still a nice place to visit, but the impression I'm getting is that unless another conservative comes in soon (to reassure investors), things are going to completely fall apart and it will return to being a 3rd World backwater run by a few rich, corrupt jackasses.

If anyone is interested in following events in DR, there is an English website devoted to tourism and investment located at dr1.com. Be forewarned that since most of the people contributing to te site are invested there, they tend to gloss over the bad and highlite the good.

I don't know. It may be that things turn around in the next election. I'm going to follow events and see. I wouldn't advise buying land there at this time.
Oh, and tourist CCW permits are now a thing of the past, apparently. Gun ownership is still fairly easygoing, but you have to go through a permit system before you can buy or carry guns and that would take longer than the average vacation would allow.

Keith