Firearm buying advice for a Permanent Resident (green card)

As a Permanent Resident Alien you have the same 2A rights as a citizen EXCEPT a NICS check requires 90 days proof of continuous current residence.

This can be satisfied via the list below assuming it is your name

Utility Bills
Bank Statement
Rent receipt
Mortgage statement
Property tax bill
Documents from Federal, State or local government agencies
Insurance policy, bill or credit card statement with current address

You will additionally have to take your Green Card (not Blue Card) with you at the time of purchase. Officially you just need to provide your Alien Number but it's not worth the grief.

Assuming you are 21 or higher you can purchase a pistol without further restriction from an FFL

Assuming you are 18-21 you CANNOT buy a pistol from an FFL although you can buy privately at this age range

Mothers statement requirement is BS assuming you are 18+

You have to register your guns in Vegas? Lame.

It's Federal law, not just store policy. You should get something put in your name to establish residency.

Note that on top of Federal law, states can impose additional requirements. California, for instance, will not accept bank statements or pay stubs as residency.

+1 with everalim. It can be a painful process if your FFL dealer does not know what he's doing. The NICS process is hit or miss. More often than not there is a delay. The fastest I've had is 2 hours while I was browsing through the store.

everallm said:

As a Permanent Resident Alien you have the same 2A rights as a citizen EXCEPT a NICS check requires 90 days proof of continuous current residence.

This can be satisfied via the list below assuming it is your name

Utility Bills
Bank Statement
Rent receipt
Mortgage statement
Property tax bill
Documents from Federal, State or local government agencies
Insurance policy, bill or credit card statement with current address

You will additionally have to take your Green Card (not Blue Card) with you at the time of purchase. Officially you just need to provide your Alien Number but it's not worth the grief.

Assuming you are 21 or higher you can purchase a pistol without further restriction from an FFL

Assuming you are 18-21 you CANNOT buy a pistol from an FFL although you can buy privately at this age range

Mothers statement requirement is BS assuming you are 18+

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You are pertinently wrong. Mother's statement is required by federal law too. He is not the person whom the address is legally under, the owner of the address regardless of if its his mother friend or even spouse needs to submit a statement. That also doesn't mean there are no instances where the law is ignored. Its just like getting a driver's license, same exact thing is required. Since 9/11, the rules were tightened by the patriot act, and real ID law. Sanctuary cities and states however are notorious for ignoring these to allow loop holes for Driver's license seekers who may not have all the requirements. Oh and regardless of how many times you have bought fire arms and regardless of having CHP, CCW blue cards, green cards etc, FFL MUST certify the residency requirements with each purchase.

dec41971: I haven't come across this requirement of a letter of certification from the owner. I guess that does come into play if the potential gun buyer doesn't have any bill or credit card in his name

OP: Be careful not to tread on dangerous ground here. If somebody buys a gun with the intention of turning it over quickly, it may constitute a straw sale. Make sure you document on a bill of sale that you purchased the gun from your brother in law.

Dec41971, you're completely wrong, go to the ATF website have a look at the extensive documentation.

As an example, link to a PDF of the 4473, no statement akin to yours at all.

http://www.atf.gov/forms/download/atf-f-4473.pdf

Based on your opinion anyone who rented who be in the same situation, as would a soldier living on base who has permission to have personal firearms from the CO.

Also this is NOT a politics site, take the "sanctuary city" comments elsewhere

I guess Wikipedia is as good a source as any:

"In the context of United States federal gun laws, a straw purchase is defined as any purchase from a dealer holding a Federal Firearms License where the buyer conducting the transaction is acting as a proxy for another person. The law does not distinguish between someone who is purchasing on behalf of a person who legally cannot purchase or possess a firearm, and one who is not. In the United States, straw purchases are a felony violation of the Gun Control Act of 1968 for both the straw purchaser (who can also be charged with lying on Federal Form 4473) and the ultimate possessor. One of the questions on form 4473 is “I am the buyer of this firearm” and the purchaser must answer honestly yes or no, by checking the appropriate box in ink. However, purchase of a firearm as a bona fide gift for someone who can legally own such a firearm is permitted.[1]

Many gun shops have jointly participated in programs (such as: “Don’t Lie For The Other Guy”) to deter such purchases.[2]"

As far as ammo, you just have to be of legal age to buy. No FFL required. You may (and should) be asked for your drivers license, although I haven't seen this consistently done at Wally World.

Can you comment more on this, docnyt? What exactly is a straw sale? Is that illegal?

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This action from your previous post would be a felony for both people involved:

My brother in law offered to go to the store and buy the SR9 for me, then I just pay him back.

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docnyt said:

As far as ammo, you just have to be of legal age to buy. No FFL required. You may (and should) be asked for your drivers license, although I haven't seen this consistently done at Wally World.

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Why should they ask you for your drivers license?

Why should they ask you for your drivers license?

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Well, you have to be 21 to buy handgun ammo so they should be asking. It's a stupid law (like most gun laws) but it's still the law. They have to cover themselves to protect their business and follow the law.

AMMO Purchase

If you have to be 21 to own a handgun why is it stupid to require you to be 21 to buy ammo for that gun?? Are you questioning the 21 years of age to buy a handgun??? I would support the 21 years of age requirement with the exception of military personnel.

If you have to be 21 to own a handgun why is it stupid to require you to be 21 to buy ammo for that gun?

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Federal law does not require that one be 21 to own a handgun, though it doesn't allow those under 21 to buy a handgun from an FFL. Odd combination. State laws vary.

Laws distinguishing handgun ammo from other kinds are kind of silly. Is .38 special "handgun ammo"? Sure, but it's also what I shoot in my Marlin 1894c. Is .30-30 "handgun ammo"? Of course not, but I read something once about somebody who did make a handgun that shot this cartridge (which was relevant under the proposed but not enacted Federal legislation on "armor-piercing bullets," which would have outlawed just about all centerfire cartridges).

Should 22LR be considered as rifle ammo, or handgun ammo? It says rifle right in the name, but many handguns use it.

We went to the Police substation and had it registered, they gave me my blue card.

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You have to register your guns in Vegas? Lame.

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I didn't know this. City ordinance?

snubbies said:

If you have to be 21 to own a handgun why is it stupid to require you to be 21 to buy ammo for that gun?? Are you questioning the 21 years of age to buy a handgun??? I would support the 21 years of age requirement with the exception of military personnel.

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Might want to read up on the law before quoting it. From a Federal standpoint there is NO LAW requiring you to be 21 to own or buy a handgun. ONLY that you can't buy one from a dealer.

So, if there's no law saying you can't own one why do you have to be 21 to buy ammo for one?

Again, stupid gun laws.

So you support a requirement that doesn't even exist?

No not necessarily. If your brother in law buys it, he can either give it to you as a gift or sell it to you but (and this is probably not covered by any law) I would wait a few days before doing either, and document on paper with a clear understanding that it is being transferred to you.

And don't brag about it on the internet.

. If your brother in law buys it, he can either give it to you as a gift or sell it to you but (and this is probably not covered by any law) I would wait a few days before doing either

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That's still a straw purchase, no matter how long he waits to do the transfer. If the intent at the time of purchase was to get around the law it's a straw purchase always whether it's 5 minutes later or 5 months.

Why don't you just do what the gun store asks and get your new gun? Why try and find a way around the laws?