Non-residents Can't Buy Firearms?

[SIOP]

BATF disagrees with you. You can be a resident of more than one state for the purpose of purchasing firearms. I own property in Arizona and live there for 2 - 3 months out of the year. BATF says I can legally purchase handguns in Arizona when I am actually living there. I was also told that quick trips over the border do not qualify.

Here is what they say on their web site. http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm#b13

(B13) May a person who resides in one state and owns property in another state purchase a handgun in either state? [Back]

If a person maintains a home in 2 states and resides in both states for certain periods of the year, he or she may, during the period of time the person actually resides in a particular state, purchase a handgun in that state. But simply owning property in another state does not qualify the person to purchase a handgun in that state.

How do you figure BATF disagrees with me? BATF says you can only purchase a handgun in the state you are actually residing in. That's what I said.

 

[EOD Guy]

How do you figure BATF disagrees with me? BATF says you can only purchase a handgun in the state you are actually residing in. That's what I said.

The point I was trying to make is that you can be a dual resident as far as eligibility to purchase handguns. You are right that you have to be actually residing in the state. When I visit Arizona for 2 or 3 months, I am eligible to purchase handguns in that state even though I am still a legal resident of California. As far as BATF is concerned, legal residency as defined by a state and residency for purchasing firearms can be two different things.

In the case of military personnel, they can not only be residents of 2 but even 3 states. For instance, an individual entered the service from California, is stationed in Maryland, and lives in Virginia. Another example is a service member from Texas who is stationed at Ft Campbell, KY. That post extends into Tennessee and the service member could purchase in either TN or KY.

I think we may have been saying the same thing, in different ways.

 

[SIOP]

The point I was trying to make is that you can be a dual resident as far as eligibility to purchase handguns. You are right that you have to be actually residing in the state. When I visit Arizona for 2 or 3 months, I am eligible to purchase handguns in that state even though I am still a legal resident of California. As far as BATF is concerned, legal residency as defined by a state and residency for purchasing firearms can be two different things.

In the case of military personnel, they can not only be residents of 2 but even 3 states. For instance, an individual entered the service from California, is stationed in Maryland, and lives in Virginia. Another example is a service member from Texas who is stationed at Ft Campbell, KY. That post extends into Tennessee and the service member could purchase in either TN or KY.

Actually, you can't be a dual resident. You can only be a resident for handgun purchase purposes in one state at a time. When you are living in AZ, you can't buy a handgun in CA, and vice versa. As far as that goes, you could have property in all 50 states. But you can only purchase a handgun in the one you are actually residing in at the time. I pointed out the active-duty exception in my original post.

 

[EOD Guy]

SIOP,

I agree with everything you are saying. Like I said in my last post, I think we are saying the same thing in different ways. Legal residency and residency for purchasing firearms may not be the same thing. For other than military personnel, what counts is where you are actually living.

What I was calling dual residency was being a resident of different states at different times, alternating between them.

 

[HKrazy]

Regardless of what the ATF says, I doubt seriously they have any control over the state statutes.

They are not claiming that they do. What they are saying is if you look at most State statues, they allow you to buy a firearm in a contiguous State but they do not prohibit you from buying in a non-contiguous State. Therefore, unless your State expressly forbids it, you may legally purchase a long gun in any State where it is legal to do so and not be in violation of State or Federal law.

Actually, you can't be a dual resident.

Actually, you can.... sort of. Look at the definition of "resides" from 27CFR478.11:

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.

It is possible to have the intention of making a home in more than one State at a time. Owning land or owning a rental property does not count as you do not make a home there. Renting a home to reside in does count for the period of the lease.

As one must be present in a State to be a resident, due to the laws of physics, one can technically only be a resident of one State at a time.

However, what if you are traveling from your one State of residence to the other and you stop in a third state to buy a rifle, what States resident are you?

Using either residency should not make any difference to the BATF as long as the transaction is otherwise legal.