New Wisconsin Bill Removes Contiguous State Language From 175.30

[dc dalton]

New Wisconsin bill allows residents to buy rifles and shotguns from any state by removing 'contiguous' language from 175.30

Current law allows a resident of Wisconsin or an entity maintaining a place of business in Wisconsin to obtain a rifle or shotgun in a state that is contiguous to Wisconsin if the transfer complies with federal law and the laws of both states. This bill eliminates the requirement that the state be a contiguous state.

http://amgoa.org/Proposed-Wisconsin-Gun-Law-SB285/State-Law/9885

 

[NavyLCDR]

This is the old law:
175.30  Purchase of firearms in contiguous states permitted. It is lawful for a resident of this state or a corporation or other business entity maintaining a place of business in this state to purchase or otherwise obtain a rifle or shotgun in a state contiguous to this state if the transfer complies with federal law and the laws of both states.

The Wisconsin law never prohibited anything, so the new change to the law is for administrative purposes only and does not change anything in regards to what is legal or not.

In the 1968 Federal Gun Control Act was a law that allowed rifle and shotgun purchases limited to contiguous states from FFLs only if there was a specific law in the state which allowed it. That's where the Wisconsin law came from. The Wisconsin law above never prohibited anything, it was Federal law that contained the prohibition.

In a 1986 amendment to the Federal Law 18 USC 922 (b)(3), the contiguous state limitation was removed, and also removed the requirement for a specific state law allowing out of state purchases/sales. So, in 1986, all those state laws that allowed contiguous state purchases became completely meaningless, so long as the state law contained no specific prohibition.

Wisconsin law fits that situation. It doesn't prohibit anything. Thus, since 1986, it has been legal for a Wisconsin resident to buy a rifle or shotgun from an FFL in any state, so long as there was no state law in the other state prohibiting the sale - which means legal in about 46-48 of states.

This is explained in the August 2004 Newsletter to FFLs published by the ATF:
http://www.atf.gov/files/publications/newsletters/ffl/ffl-newsletter-2004-08.pdf

 

[NavyLCDR]

From the ATF:
http://www.atf.gov/files/publications/newsletters/ffl/ffl-newsletter-2004-08.pdf

"Historically, prior to the 1986 amendments to the
GCA, many States enacted provisions in their laws
that allowed their residents to acquire a long gun in
a contiguous State. For the most part, these State
law provisions were modeled after the contiguous
state provisions of the GCA. However, even
though the GCA was amended in 1986 to allow
the sale of long guns to residents of any State
pursuant to the conditions cited above, many States
have not yet amended their laws to reflect similar
language. ATF takes the position that if the laws
of a given State allow its residents to acquire a long
gun in a contiguous State, those laws also allow its
residents to acquire a long gun in any other State
where the laws of that State permit such
transactions, unless the language contained in that
State’s law expressly prohibits it residents from
acquiring a firearm outside that State."