michaelbsc I'm working in WA for a while, but I live in SC......
But what's the Federal rule about shipping a handgun? Can she legally stuff it into a UPS box and ship it to my hotel? Or is that outside the boundary?
You are a resident of WA while living there, a resident of SC while you are living there.
Federal law does not permit your wife to ship any firearm directly to you....to do so is a violation of federal law by both you AND your wife. Whether you own the guns jointly makes no difference.
You can either:
-go back to SC and bring the guns back with you as checked luggage.
-go back to SC and ship the guns YOURSELF, to your address in WA.
-have your wife ship the guns to a WA dealer. (i believe the WA dealer will charge you sales tax on the value of the guns in addition to any transfer fee)
NavyLCDR It is illegal for her to ship the gun to you without informing the carrier IN WRITING that the shipment contains a firearm, 18 USC 922(e). No carrier will ship the firearm from one private party to a different private party in another state.
"Failure to notify" is small potato's compared to the Federal crime for an illegal interstate transfer of a firearm.
Cosmoline ...Shipping firearms to you on your order would be akin to shipping them to yourself, but it isn't exactly shipping them to yourself.
"akin"? It's clearly a violation of Federal law to ship a firearm interstate to a nonlicensee. There are only a couple of exceptions and "wife to husband" is NOT one of them.
MedWheeler ^^ Or have her simply bring it out to you..
Simply a Federal crime.
Thats an illegal interstate transfer of a firearm.
michaelbsc ...I am a little curious how the BATFE looks at the guns in our safe...
they don't give a rats hiney.
What they care about is how the firearm is transferred interstate. It has nothing to do with ownership.
michaelbsc ....Ergo, while I could not purchase a handgun when I first got here, I can make the justification that I'm here now, and then use my WA address on the 4473.
Do I have this right?
Yes.
What the state of Washington considers as "residency" is immaterial. For the purposes of buying a firearm, ATF says you are a resident of the place you make your home. A college student living in a dorm in Oklahoma is a resident of Oklahoma, when he returns to his family home in Texas....he's a Texas resident.
When you fill out your 4473 you should list your "current residence address" as where you are currently living....obviously it's WA. You can use your SC drivers license as the required government issued photo ID and must submit a government issued document showing your CURRENT residence address in WA. (the dealer will record this "alternate documentation" on Que20b of the Form 4473)
This "alternate documentation" must be government issued: a utility bill from a municipality, a hunting licence.....even a traffic ticket.