Residency question - buying/selling

[Numenorean]

Hello all,

Here's my situation - I own a home in a gun-friendly state, but due to personal obligations, I currently live & work in a very gun-unfriendly state. I go on vacation perhaps twice a year to the friendly state, spending maybe a total of two weeks there out of the year, but otherwise live in the unfriendly state for the remainder of the time.

I understand the ATF's definition of residency for the purposes of firearm purchases/sales to be "present in a state while intending to make a home in that state."

With that said, would it be legal for me to change my driver's license over to the gun-friendly state, and be able to legally purchase and sell firearms, whether from an FFL or privately, in the friendly state while I'm actually present there? I think the ATF describes such a situation as presumptively legal but I'm not sure. I would still be living for most of the year in the bad state until such time as I can permanently relocate, which is hopefully soon. I don't intend on breaking any laws by bringing anything I buy in the good state to the bad one; certainly no AW's or restricted items.

Can anyone help? Thanks.

 

[dogtown tom]

Numenorean ......would it be legal for me to change my driver's license over to the gun-friendly state, and be able to legally purchase and sell firearms, whether from an FFL or privately, in the friendly state while I'm actually present there?

Your drivers license has no bearing on what your state of residence actually is.

If your DL is issued by Texas, but you actually live in Oklahoma...........you are (for the purposes of acquiring or disposing of firearms) an Oklahoma resident.

If your DL does not show your current residence address you merely have to show alternate government issued documentation that shows your current residence address.

 

[Frank Ettin]

For the purposes of federal firearms transfer law "State of Residence" is defined as follows (27 CFR 478.11):

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:

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.

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.

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.

I'm not going to opine on whether you are a resident of Gun Friendly State when you are there, and I've not looked into the question of whether there are any judicial decisions which might better clarify the applicable standards.

One option would be to pay a qualified lawyer for a formal legal opinion. Please be advised that a violation can get you up to five years in federal prison plus a lifetime loss of gun rights.

 

[NavyLCDR]

One option would be to pay a qualified lawyer for a formal legal opinion. Please be advised that a violation can get you up to five years in federal prison plus a lifetime loss of gun rights.

Bringing a firearm into your home state that you illigally obtained outside that state violates 18 USC 922(a)(3) and carries the 5 year sentence. If they also convict the person of knowlingly lying on the form 4473 regarding state of residence, that violates 18 USC 922(a)(6) and actually carries its own 10 year sentence!

Most penalties are listed in 18 USC 924.

 

[tepin]

Numenorean,
You have described my situation exactly and I did a bit of research on the topic.
Not sure where your vacation home is, but.... I live and work full-time in MN (where suppressors are illegal ) and bought a vacation home in AZ . I took my MN DL, passport and closing documents to the AZ DMV and obtained an AZ state ID card with my AZ vacation home address printed on it and listed my MN address as my mailing address. On the AZ application there was a box that said something along the lines of "...do not share my information with other governmental agencies..." - I checked this box to ensure my MN DL wouldn't become void - not that it would because the ID isn't a DL... I was just being careful.

The instructions on the ATF form 4473 (HERE) are very clear on Current Residence Address and even give an example:

If you are buying a firearm while staying in your weekend home in state X you should list your address in state X

With a state ID with your vacation home address printed on it, you should be okay in buying a gun and being legal. For me the state ID was the path of least resistance and sure to be accepted by any FFL. The AZ ID was $12.00 and never expires. If you need to ship a firearm you are also covered if shipping between two homes that you own. Tom did a good write-up HERE.