giving a rifle to my out of state brother (active duty military) FFL required?

[BeerSleeper]

I live in Missouri.

I have an opportunity to get in on a group buy, locally, on stripped lower AR15 receivers (for all intents and purposes, legally considered to be the same as a fully assembled, rifle, correct? (I am proceeding on this assumption)

My brother is active duty marine corps, stationed outside Missouri. He will likely help me assemble my AR15 the next time he visits.

Can I give him a lower, without shipping it to an FFL in his home state? I know under ordinary circumstances this would not be possible, but when dealing with active duty military, aren't there some exceptions where the state they are stationed in isn't necessarily considered their state of residence?

Thanks!

 

[BeerSleeper]

point of clarification. by "give it to him" I don't mean ship it to his state. I mean give it to him, in person, the next time he visits missouri.

 

[kingpin008]

Nope. Gotta go through a FFL.

 

[GRIZ22]

Can I give him a lower, without shipping it to an FFL in his home state? I know under ordinary circumstances this would not be possible, but when dealing with active duty military, aren't there some exceptions where the state they are stationed in isn't necessarily considered their state of residence?


Does your brother have Missouri as his home of record? Does he have a Missouri driver's license, pay state income tax, etc. If that is the case you can transfer the gun to him under Missouri laws. He can be considered a resident of where he's stationed and his home of record for buying guns.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Does your brother have Missouri as his home of record? Does he have a Missouri driver's license, pay state income tax, etc. If that is the case you can transfer the gun to him under Missouri laws. He can be considered a resident of where he's stationed and his home of record for buying guns.

You are mistaken, GRIZ22. Military home of record, driver's license, and paying state income taxes have absolutely nothing to do with residency for the purposes of firearms transactions at the Federal law level.

I have had a Wyoming driver's license for 29 years. I've been registered to vote in Wyoming for 26 years. I have listed Wyoming as a home of record for military records for 27 years. It would be completely illegal for me to purchase or permanently receive any firearm in Wyoming other than a rifle or shotgun from an FFL in Wyoming because I have not met the Federal definition for residency in Wyoming for 24 years.

The Federal statute definition of residency is PRESENCE in a state with the INTENTION of making a HOME in that state and/or possessing permanent active duty military orders to a state. I have done neither of those in Wyoming for 24 years.

stripped lower AR15 receivers (for all intents and purposes, legally considered to be the same as a fully assembled, rifle, correct?

Not correct. Stripped lower receivers are considered "other firearms". Because they do not meet the definition of a rifle or shotgun, a stripped lower receiver falls under the rules for "other firearms" which are exactly the same as pistols and revolvers. Unless your brother is present in the state of Missouri with the intention of making a home there, he is not a Missouri resident for the purposes of firearms transactions regardless of what his home of record is or where his driver's license is from. According to Federal law he is a resident of the state where he sleeps every night and/or the state he has permanent duty orders to (if those two states are different, he is a resident of both.)

Therefore, for him to receive the stripped lower receiver in the state where he resides, it must be transferred to him by another resident of that state, or by an FFL in that state.

18 USC (a)(3) and (b)(3) are the governing statutes:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/718/usc_sec_18_00000922----000-.html

27 CFR 478.11 contains the Federal definition of state of residency for the purposes of firearms transactions:
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/tex...iv8&view=text&node=27:3.0.1.2.3.2.1.1&idno=27

You will notice there is no mention of home of record, driver's license, or paying taxes in the Federal definition of State of Residence.

 

[BeerSleeper]

nuts. I guess I will see if the seller will give the group purchase price still if one lower has to be shipped separately to another FFL. Otherwise, a second shipping to a second FFL most likely negates the cost savings.

thanks for the info.

 

[hirundo82]

Stripped lower receivers are considered "other firearms". Because they do not meet the definition of a rifle or shotgun, a stripped lower receiver falls under the rules for "other firearms" which are exactly the same as pistols and revolvers.

Except for the multiple sales reporting requirement.[/nitpick]

If your brother wants to make a rifle out of that stripped lower, slap a buffer tube and buttstock on it. It's now a rifle (for ever and ever) and can be transferred to him by a Missouri FFL, laws of Missouri and his state of residence permitting.

 

[GRIZ22]

You are mistaken, GRIZ22. Military home of record, driver's license, and paying state income taxes have absolutely nothing to do with residency for the purposes of firearms transactions at the Federal law level.


Thanks for getting that straight. I had that confused with having a residence in one state and having your duty station in another state, a situation I have had. Then you can buy guns either in your residence state or duty station state as listed below:

Q: What constitutes residency in a State?
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.

[18 U.S.C. 921(b), 922(a) (3), and 922(b)(3), 27 CFR 478.11]

 

[NavyLCDR]

Yes, I agree with both hirundo82 and GRIZZ22. The multiple sales report does not apply, and an active duty service member can have two states of residence (even three states if the base they are assigned to spans across two states and they live in a third state, but I don't know if that is geographically possible anywhere in the US).

 

[JerryM]

Must go through a FFL in his state. Don't get messed up for the cost of a FFL doing it legally.

Regards,
Jerry

 

[Art Eatman]

Original question answered.