Transfer Question

[Guyon]

Little help here from those of you who might be in the know?

My mom, who is in AL, wants a pistol for purse carry, and I have a small semi-auto, purchased here in TN, that I want to give to her. However, I do want to make sure that the transfer of this gun--both across state lines and into her possession--is done correctly. Should she ever have cause to use the gun defensively (which I hope she never does), I don't want an illegal transfer to come back and bite me in the ass at a later date.

Since I have a TN handgun carry permit, I can legally take the gun into her home state of AL. According to http://www.tennessee.gov/safety/reciprocity.html Alabama does recognize TN handgun permits. Of course, I know I can legally transport the gun regardless of any permit, as long as it is kept unloaded and locked out of reach. I assume therefore that since I can just drive the pistol down to AL, I won't have to fool with shipping the gun to an FFL holder near my mom.

What I'm wondering, I suppose, is whether or not I need to find an FFL holder to complete transfer paperwork. Since she's immediately family, I thought I might be able to simply give her the gun without any paperwork. But because the gun is crossing state lines, I suspect an FFL transfer might be in order regardless of our relation.

Anybody else had to contend with a similar situation?

 

[berettaman]

Give her the gun.It doesn't really matter how you transport it there since you have a permit.She's your mother and no jury in the world is gonna convict you for trying to insure her safety.

 

[Majic]

I would check the Alabama state firearm laws. One sure way to do it is to sell it to her for $1.00 and transfer it thru a FFL and you pick up the transfer fees (the $1.00 doesn't actually have to change hands).

 

[The Rabbi]

You could do all that and go through the hassle of a dealer to dealer transfer but since neither TN nor AL (AFAIK) registers guns no one is going to know where it came from. If Gd forbid she has to use it no one is going to care either. Any prosecutor who is going to dig into this and spend resources trying to convict a mom after she was in danger of her life is going to be laughed out of court.
Give her the gun face to face and thats the end of it.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Legally you must transfer the gun to her through a FFL in Alabama.

 

[Majic]

DO NOT think that if she uses it and it turns up that it is illegal that she won't get into trouble. In some places an illegal firearm means automatic conviction with jail time on top of the associated crime. In court they will care less that she is a mother.

 

[The Rabbi]

Ever bought a gun at a show from a non dealer or from any private person? What paperwork will show that transfer? How will you account for that gun if you ever have to use it? How many times in a self defense shooting does the DA question where the gun came from that the defender used?
Sure, theoretically there could be trouble and if this were the PRK anything is possible. But we're dealing with AL.

 

[Majic]

Use a firearm during a crime and it will be confiscated. The serial number will then be checked. The question would be how a firearm that was last tracked to Tenn. has surfaced in Alabama. As it's against the law to sell interstate without going thru a FFL they will ask her where she got it.
What you are talking about is a sale between 2 residents of the same state where no FFL is needed. If you are not of the same state then the transfer is required to be legal. Just because you may find someone to sell to you from out of state doesn't make it legal.

 

[Werewolf]

Wouldn't the gun just be a GIFT?

Gifting of firearms is a totally legit practice within a state. It sounds to me that a lot of you are saying that gifting if it crosses state boundaries is a no-no?

 

[EOD Guy]

Wouldn't the gun just be a GIFT?

Gifting of firearms is a totally legit practice within a state. It sounds to me that a lot of you are saying that gifting if it crosses state boundaries is a no-no?

As far as the law is concerned, it is still a transfer across state lines and an FFL must do the transfer at the receiving end. There are a few exceptions, but this is not one of them.

 

[Steel]

Drive that thing over to her on a weekend. You've been away too longer anyway!

;- )

 

[The Rabbi]

Use a firearm during a crime and it will be confiscated. The serial number will then be checked. The question would be how a firearm that was last tracked to Tenn. has surfaced in Alabama.

This is if the firearm was used to commit a crime, not to stop one. There have been many many stories of homeowners etc using their guns but never one where the gun was confiscated and the numbers checked. More than half the time the police never look at the defender's gun anyway. When they check they will look to see if it was stolen. They will not track the gun. If you were to track every gun in TN you would find that probably better than half were originally delivered somewhere else and ended up here. People move and take their guns and unless you are going to a fascist paradise like NYC no one cares. No one will think twice about it. I bought two guns here in the 1980s. I took them to NC. I went to sell one and no one asked me how it got there. I took them to Philadelphia and no one asked me about that. I came back here and no one asked me.

If asked she will tell them, my son gave it to me. No one is going to look for paperwork as to when he did that and where he lived at the time. DA's just have better things to do than prosecute old ladies who defended themselves.