I'm active duty military and I can't buy guns in my state of residency

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armed85

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My state of residency is Georgia and I pay Georgia state income tax. I do not have a Georgia state drivers license and I do not live in Georgia.

I live where ever Uncle Sam sends me. In a two year period, I have PCS orders to Texas, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

My truck is registered in Texas and I have a Texas drivers license. This because it was easier, at the time, to register my truck in Texas than in Georgia. I'm currently stationed at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas.

So I walk into a gun store in Georgia while on leave to visit my parents for Thanksgiving and to my surprise I cannot buy a gun because, according to the ATF, I'm not a "resident of Georgia." Rather, I need to buy guns where I live, which is Arkansas.

Funny thing is, the only way I can buy a gun in Arkansas is to give the gun store my military ID and PCS orders to Little Rock AFB. They need this because, according to the ATF, I'm not a "resident of Arkansas."

Will someone please tell the Department of Defense that according to the ATF, I'm not a resident of Georgia, so please stop making me pay Georgia state income tax.

To think, the ATF is going through all this trouble to verify that active duty military members are not criminals.

/rant off
 
Easier said than done. Military members tend to move a lot and changing drivers licenses all the time can be a real chore. I kept my Texas license for quite a while when stationed in Nebraska until I figured out they weren't going to move me...at all...
 
when I was in the army, 83-87, our state drivers licences where good for as long as we where in service. Cop's didn't like it but we didn't care.
 
That's still true today. Your drivers license can expire, but you're still legal as long as you have an active duty military ID.

I went with a Texas license because my Georgia license was 5 years old and looked like hell. It don't remember how much it cost, but it wasn't much to exchange my license.

I should have kept that old crusty expired Georgia license.
 
When I was a young active duty AF officer I carried an expired Louisiana driver's license for about 9 years. No problems. When I finally got a new license the picture sure looked different
 
When I was in the military I've lived in South Carolina, Washington, Georgia and Arizona and the whole 22.5 years I've had an Ohio drivers license.

Anytime I wanted to buy a firearm in any of them states, I took a copy of my PCS orders and military ID and had zero issues purchasing a firearm.
 
Will someone please tell the Department of Defense that according to the ATF, I'm not a resident of Georgia, so please stop making me pay Georgia state income tax.
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It's the state, not the DoD, that determines whether or not you have to pay income tax.

I was living in MA when I joined the Army at 18 - my parents moved a year later to CT, which at the time did not have an income tax, but because I had enlisted in MA I had to pay taxes for the rest of the time I was in service.
 
Check with the State of Georgia they might issue a military operator's license. When I was in the military, the Commonwealth of Kentucky issued me a driver’s license that read Military Operators License. It required an Active Duty Military ID to be valid, but had no expiration date. The fee was the same a regular Operators License. You may have to check with the main state DL office; sometimes the local courthouses are not up to speed on unusual licenses.

By the way, a home of record DL, a vehicle tag from the state you purchased the truck in, and living in a third state violates the 3 State Rule. A neat little stick it to the soldier boys rule that several states have adopted (TN, IL for example). In my day they would jab you for $100. That was a lot to an LT that made $600 per month and it broke the lower ranking EM’s for several months.
 
i never realized that this was a problem i thought that no matter what state you were in if you shoed a valid drivers license then they were able to send your info in on the computor and you could walk out with your firearm...well rifle or shotgun i know there are different laws for handguns
 
AFAIK, Federal law (Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act) allows a person in military service to keep his home-of-record state drivers license as long as he is in service, even if it expires. The same is true of an automobile license. However, most service members simply apply by mail and are issued a new DL with "no picture required" in place of the picture. (Some keep the expired license so they will have a picture.) That is valid ID in the home-of-record state. In any other state, the military ID and appropriate orders are fine for purchasing a gun on the same terms as a non-military resident of that state.

Jim
 
Will someone please tell the Department of Defense that according to the ATF, I'm not a resident of Georgia, so please stop making me pay Georgia state income tax.
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You'll have to do that through your personnel office. Generally, you can maintain your home state as your tax home while you are in the military, or you can pay taxes to the state you have met residency requirements in. Shouldn't be a problem to change, but you'll have to file an Arkansas return instead of Georgia!
 
Bottom line, why in the hell is BATFE, or any other org/bureacracy making this sort of 'point' ? We're giving these individuals control of a hell of a lot more firepower than a handgun or rifle on a daily basis. IMO a military ID ought to suffice as 'prima facie' evidence of meritorious standing until/unless that ID has been 'restricted' by a properly convened military court. In many states it is, or used to be, the only 'proof of residency' required to buy a hunting license. Why not the gun ?

Soon or late, we're going to have to learn an obvious lesson: Discriminating against those we expect to willing make the ultimate sacrifice in order the rest of us might quibble over such trivia, may result in our having far more important and immediate grievances with folks far less ammenable. >MW
 
(B11) What constitutes residency in a State? [Back]

The State of residence is the State in which an individual is present; the individual also must have an intention of making a home in that State. A member of the Armed Forces on active duty is a resident of the State in which his or her permanent duty station is located. If a member of the Armed Forces maintains a home in one State and the member’s permanent duty station is in a nearby State to which he or she commutes each day, then the member has two States of residence and may purchase a firearm in either the State where the duty station is located or the State where the home is maintained....


(B12) May a person (who is not an alien) who resides in one State and owns property in another State purchase a handgun in either State? [Back]

If a person maintains a home in 2 States and resides in both States for certain periods of the year, he or she may, during the period of time the person actually resides in a particular State, purchase a handgun in that State. However, simply owning property in another State does not qualify the person to purchase a handgun in that State.

[27 CFR 478.11]
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Seems like civillians have more leeway because we can have dual residency and buy in both states (when residing there at the time).
 
When I was in the Marine Corps I kept my Alaska driver's license the whole time. DMV allowed me to renew early when I was home on leave. As for the current problem, try taking in your most recent LES. It lists your home state on it and shows that you're paying GA taxes.
 
Maybe a FFL can help me on this one. Doesnt a military ID or passport count as valid ID when purchasing a firearm?
 
I tired using an LES and after a call to the ATF from my local gunstore that is a no-go.

They want picture ID.
 
LES won't work. You either need a drivers license in the state your at or a copy of your orders assigning you to that state. The orders along with your military ID should suffice.

But, its all up to the dealer. Some will take it and others will not. Your at their mercy even if the AFT says its ok.
 
Will someone please tell the Department of Defense that according to the ATF, I'm not a resident of Georgia, so please stop making me pay Georgia state income tax.
Click to expand...

I don't know how the AF works, in the Marine Corps, I just had one of my guys change his residence and taxes to Minnesota from W Virginia. Minnesota active duty don't pay state income taxes.

I bought 2 AR-15 lowers in MO, on TAD orders with a Minnesota DL, couldn't have taken more than 5min each. I've bought a few firearms in CA with my MN DL and a copy of orders. I switched to a CA DL and bought firearms, and then I switched back to a MN DL and bought a Pistol in MN... its just a matter of paper work, no matter what you do.

Want a simple solution, get a drivers license for the state that you are currently in. It's a pain in the butt, and I agree that a State Drivers license and a currenty Active Duty Military ID should allow you to purchase a firearm in any state, after the NCIS check.
 
For BATFE residency guidance, see:

http://www.atf.treas.gov/pub/fire-explo_pub/2005/p53004/q_and_a.pdf

Go to page 178, item (B11).

If you pay taxes/file tax forms with Georgia, you are legally a Georgia resident.

To clear up your residency problems via the AF, go to your MPF and/or legal office. Also, go to MyPay and make sure your state tax withholding is correct, you should be able to fix this online or at the finance office.

Next time you go to Georgia (take leave and do this soon) get a Georgia DL. Get your vehicle registered in either Georgia, or the state you are currently stationed in. You will need to show proof of residency, something with your last Georgia address on it (school diploma, utility bills). You may need to give/show them copies of your original enlistment paperwork, current assignment (PCS) orders, and back copies of your tax returns, W-2's and LES. Basically, you want as much stuff as possible through your "Home of Record" (whichever state you want for tax purposes) and your state of assignment will be your mailing address (which will possibly show on your DL, i.e. Arkansas address on Georgia DL)

I'd consult with your legal office first, if you can't get anywhere, talk to your First Sergeant.

My example: My HOR is Vermont, that is where I lived and enlisted from. I have a VT DL. I pay VT taxes (well, no I don't, due to my being active duty outside the state, one reason I keep it as my HOR). I am stationed in Arizona. I bought a house in Arizona. I bought a vehicle in Arizona and it is registered in Arizona (also tax free here due to AD, here from out-of-state status). I will have an AZ mailing address on my VT licence (in work, just sent in the change form). According to the BATFE, I can buy firearms in Arizona AND Vermont. I can get (and am working on) an AZ resident CC permit.

Hope this wasn't too confusing!:confused:
 
You may have some leeway in the state where you're stationed, as well. I was a TN resident but stationed in SC about 20 years ago and wanted to buy a gun in SC. One of my buds (I was an O-1 Ensign and he'd just made O-2 LTJG) was with me, and SC let him, a "superior officer" sign some SC form on my behalf which allowed me to buy a pistol, and without the 3 day waiting period to boot.

Watch out for the 3 state rule, btw.
 
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