How to LEGALLY determine your state of residence...

[grndslm]

Here's an excerpt of the Federal law, which defines your "state of residence"...

State of residence. The State in which an individual resides. An individual resides in a State if he or she is present in a State with the intention of making a home in that State. If an individual is on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces, the individual's State of residence is the State in which his or her permanent duty station is located. An alien who is legally in the United States shall be considered to be a resident of a State only if the alien is residing in the State and has resided in the State for a period of at least 90 days prior to the date of sale or delivery of a firearm.

The following are examples that illustrate this definition:
[SIZE=-1]Example 1. A maintains a home in State X. A travels to State Y on a hunting, fishing, business, or other type of trip. A does not become a resident of State Y by reason of such trip.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Example 2. A is a U.S. citizen and maintains a home in State X and a home in State Y. A resides in State X except for weekends or the summer months of the year and in State Y for the weekends or the summer months of the year. During the time that A actually resides in State X, A is a resident of State X, and during the time that A actually resides in State Y, A is a resident of State Y.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Example 3. A, an alien, travels on vacation or on a business trip to State X. Regardless of the length of time A spends in State X, A does not have a State of residence in State X. This is because A does not have a home in State X at which he has resided for at least 90 days.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Soo. . . first of all... [/SIZE]the first definition for home that comes up on Google says: "where you live at a particular time". That's about the same definition I'm accustomed to. So whenever I go to a hotel or motel, I consider that my home. That is where I am residing, no matter how long it may be. Notice that only aliens have to wait 90 days in their new "home state", even tho their true home state couldn't even be found on a map of the United States of America. No time limit is given to U.S. citizens in order to purchase a firearm.

I live in Mississippi (MS), but I want a gun in Louisiana (LA). Most people would tell me that person MUST ship it to an FFL in MS, but what's stopping me from driving 90 miles to New Orleans and staying at my brother's for a few days? Nothing, because this is America!! I stay at his house for two days, making it my home. I call the guy up with the gun and tell him to meet me with 2 copies of his Bill of Sale. BAM... I just got my gun without dealing with FFLs.

I see a guy in Alabama (AL) that is selling a gun on gunbroker.com. I contact the guy and find out that he's coming to South MS for his son's litle league world series. Then I suggest that he move in with us for that week... or more likely, the hotel/motel down the street. My home is his home, and the motel's home is his home... so nothing's coming between this transaction either.

OK... enough with the hypotheticals. A guy moved from Texas (TX) to MS. He told me that he was renting another apartment, but I'm not sure if it was actually in his name. I also knew he was renting a house from my personal friends, but I'm not sure of any paperwork between the two. He showed me his TX ID and gave me his TX DL #... and then we exchanged his $$$ for my pistol.

Am I crazy for even thinking about all this stuff?? I'm selling a gun to a guy with an out of state ID/DL, and I have no documented proof of his residence. Why wouldn't I be able to drive to LA and claim I have decided to move in with my brother ONLY for the purposes of buying this handgun without dealing with shipping & transfer fees?!? Why wouldn't the same work for claiming the guy from AL is making the motel down the street from me his new home?? I have even made myself a virtual home at http://www.motoredbikes.com , so what would legally be preventing this guy from considering this motel as his home??

Seems to me that the "if he or she is present in a State with the intention of making a home in that State" part is extremely vague and left up only to the mindset of the "moving" party. And if there's no need for either one of us to do an NICS check, or even require a DL of the same state... are the thought police the only group actually plugging this "loophole"??

And why are illegal aliens allowed to purchase guns AFTER 90 days? Better yet, why are they allowed to purchase guns AT ALL, when they're supposed to be deported?!?!?!?

 

[Autolycus]

Well about illegals... how do you know so much about them? And if you read the Bill of Rights it does not mention citizenship or anything, in fact it is applicable to everyone in the USA.

What it sounds like you are doing is trying to break Federal Law. I don't think your google definition will help you in court when the ATF agents are testifying against you. Good luck with your theories.

 

[grndslm]

Forgive me... I actually missed the definition on that site of an Alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States, thinking that the 4 parts underneath were actually defining alien. Made plenty of sense to me at the time, but in actuality... illegal aliens cannot purchase a firearm legally!! My mistake. Legal aliens can purchase a firearm after 90 days, tho, and I don't see too much harm in that. How can they really prove they've been there for 90 days, tho??

As for the meat of the problem. The law is clear. Your state of residence is where you intend to make your home. What Google's definition is doesn't matter. What the court's definition is *does* matter. If I went to court over something like this, I would ask the court to explain to me the meaning of EVERY word one by one. It'd probly take 'em a week just to get the definitions out of the way. And then I'd clearly say that I intended to make my brother's house my home STRICTLY for the sake of purchasing a firearm. It all hinges on what a home is. What is a residence? What is a resident?

As I stated... there is no time limit for any U.S. citizen to live in said home before it becomes their home. In my eyes, you must be in that state at time of purchase, and you must have slept on private property for at least one night. What you consider your home is your own personal matter, because the government can't do a better job of defining a home than I can.

 

[rbernie]

What you are proposing is illegal, and Example 1 clearly shows the different between temporary housing and permanent residence.

If you intend to break Federal law, please do not document it here.