Can I Buy a Gun In Another State? In-Person Interstate Firearm Transfers and Purchases.

Today’s question: How can you legally buy a gun when you’re in another state? How do out of state gun purchases work? The Armed Attorneys break down the law regarding legally purchasing a firearm while out of your home state.

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PARTIAL AUTO-TRANSCRIPT
today we're going to talk about how to legally purchase firearms when you are in another state so you're not in your home state you decided there's a gun you found that you really want to buy and i think we'll start off just by saying the general rule is you're not going to be able to buy that gun however there is a very narrow exception for buying a firearm when you are in another state so richard do you want to kick us off on this yes and so as emily said this is the exception of the rule the exception of the rule and we're talking about long guns only this does not apply to handguns so you could potentially buy a long gun in another state so long as you meet certain qualifications and the the important ones are that you are buying it from a federal firearms license dealer an ffl you are qualified to purchase and possess firearms and ammunition so they're going to run you know do a ATF 4473 and kind of another important consideration to think about is that the firearm is legal you know the firearm has to be legal at the end of the day in the state that you live in okay so this is where the hang up is and why we see it kind of at the discretion of ffls ... let's say you're in a gun store in texas but you're a resident of california or new york or new jersey you might find that that texas ffl dealer is really unlikely to go ahead and make the sale of you know let's say this ar platform rifle to you even though they have this exemption under federal law why are they unwilling well it's generally going to be because they don't know they don't know if it's a legal gun in california in new york in new jersey they don't want to risk their license to make one sale ... there are lots of stores who are just not going to risk it yeah and i get that question a lot hey this store won't sell me a gun well they have discretion under federal law it's 100 within the discretion of the ffl if they choose to sell someone a firearm or not sell someone a firearm um and they gave them this discretion because sometimes you can't articulate exactly why or you know have a objective criteria that would knock somebody out but you just kind of get a weird feeling uh well one they want ffls to say okay if you're if you've got a weird feeling in your stomach we don't want you selling this person a gun but as a practical matter they may just say hey as a store policy we're not going to sell guns to residents of other states ... what you'll see as a practical matter you know you might see mom and pop shops sell you know guns to residents of other states you know following the law of course but our big stores our big stores will just you know kind of make these blanket prohibitions ... we've actually had a very recent court ruling say that's okay academy did not break the law the firearm itself was legal the magazine is not the firearm so that was in fact a legal transaction under federal law but you can see how i think lots of stores particularly ones with really involved lawyers and in-house counsel are going to say as a practical matter we don't make enough money on this to take the risk and to sell to people out of state because it really i mean this is some of the first times we're litigating these issues it's too much of a gray area yeah so to to summarize you know in person got to be qualified to possess firearms or ammunition long guns only and it's at the discretion of the federal firearms license dealer it's so it's a gun store it's not going to be a private individual that would not be lawful so so long as you meet all those qualifications and they want to engage in the private sale they in the in the sale through the ffl they absolutely can ...

attorneys you

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[ArmedAttorneys]

This video addresses in-person out of state firearm transactions only. We will be publishing a video in the future about shipping firearms to your local FFL for online/ineligible out of state purchases in the future. Cheers!

[raminit]

Amazing that all Constitutional Rights can be practiced the same in any state except the Second Amendment. Tell me again how all these laws aren't infringing on our 2A Right?

[pd]

California. It’s a whole different world here. I tried buying a rifle out of state and as soon as they saw my California DL it’s was an instant no. Some won’t even ship to a CA FFL.

[bill-qver]

I have bought guns while on vacation out of state and never had a problem.

[MrWGWilson]

You missed a scenario that you may acquire a firearm in another state.
You can pay for the firearm and have it transferred to an FFL in your state and pick it up from your local FFL when you get home.

[ted]

I have bought several long guns (I'm old and into single shots mostly, no AR or AK types) in several different states while traveling. I just have them sent it to my local FFL and have never had an issue, they are usually there when I get home. Hope this helps others on the road fishing, hunting, camping, and just can't pass a gun shop without going in.

[RenaissanceThinking]

Never seen an FFL in other states ever refuse to sell any firearm. Now about half require that the firearm be transferred an FFL back in your home state when it is a pistol, so have to pick them up when returning home.
The idea that as an American you cannot buy a firearm in any state in America, from an FFL or anyone else, will be news to the majority of "law abiding" people I know.

[southernoffroader]

And this is why I've bought so many guns from private sellers.

[larryweiss]

I am an FFL dealer. I NEVER sell directly to any out of state individual, although many people claim that they have done it several times. I will, however, sell to an out of state citizen ONLY if the rifle/shotgun/pistol is sent to an FFL dealer in his state.

[jerseykaari]

For any NJ folk out there -

If buying a regular pistol, you can of course buy one out of state Mail order or in person - but it MUST be shipped by the seller/dealer to an FFL Dealer in NJ - and you MUST have the NJ pistol purchase permit to complete the purchase, plus Firearm Purchaser's ID Card, NICS and all that.
Cap & Ball pistols - if you buy it in a state that doesn't consider them to be firearms for FFL purposes (i.e. PA or DE), you can buy one in person there if they'll sell it to you and transport it (following ALL of the transportation regulations) back to NJ - as it was legally purchased in the state of origin. Once it's within NJ borders, ALL of the pistol firearm laws apply to it. - NJ considers them Firearms even though the Feds and some states do not.
If you order one mail order from a state that allows that, it MUST be shipped to a FFL in NJ, and now the whole pistol permit thing applies.

Long guns, you can buy in person or mail order from out of state. If in person, provided all the other legalities are met, you can transport it back to NJ - again following all of the strict transportation rules. - I have done this many times over the last 30yrs.
If you order a long gun online (i.e. GunBroker) it must be shipped to a FFL dealer in NJ and they do all the NICS paperwork upon pick-up, again the NJFPID Card is required.
Expect to pay the usual transfer fees, NICS fees, etc.

These of course are the general rules, there are always special circumstances that may fall outside of these guidelines.

[NTC_Transport]

You are incorrect. It is perfectly legal for me to own a standard capacity magazine (30 rounds) in Colorado. I just can't BUY it here. That's why we go to Wyoming, Kansas, or Utah, to buy them. This law caused Magpull to leave Colorado for Wyoming. I'm headed that way too.

[theunaimedarrow]

I recently went to a gun show out of state. I found a left handed bolt action rifle that I have never seen before nor since (nothing special, but exactly the rifle I wanted). Spoke to the seller who wouldn't sell me a rifle that was legal in both the state I was purchasing it in, and in my home state (crappy NY). I even considered talking to a local FFL to see if they could buy it and send it to an FFL in my state, but was concerned it would be a straw purchase despite going through 2 FFLs (probably legal, but who knows in NY where laws and the Constitution play second fiddle to democrat's talking points).
The chilling effects of these vague unconstitutional laws reache far beyond the laws themselves, and works to the detriment of legal gun owners far beyond what the laws say.

[kennethrisner]

Armed Attorneys, i appreciate the way you simplify seemingly complicated issues so that non lawyer people like me can beter understand. that said a little about how things have changed here in ohio. before The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) was mandated by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, and was launched by the FBI on November 30, 1998, we could go into any place that sold gun, pay for one and walk out the door with it just as of we just bought a hammer or any other item. there were no checks, or special permissions needed. even after the NICS initially came about, all we had to do was state that we had been a resident of ohio more then 6 months. now if your pictured id isnt current or accurate, you can be denied. for example if you had just moved to a new address, even to a new place in the same town, or even just next door and have not yet had all your pictured id updated to reflect the move you can be denied because they the ffl's always ask if your id is current, and you had best not get caught lying on the form. all this said, i ask YOU, Armed Attorneys, to explain to me in layman's terms, how a mandate which isnt a law such as the NICS instituted by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, is not a back door circumvention of our constitution and an infringement of our second amendment. inquiring minds want to know

[TheCamaroGod]

So glad I stumbled across this YouTube channel. Answering all of the questions that I’ve had and more! God Bless Texas🇺🇸

[larrywilson]

I live in Kentucky and have purchased guns in Tennessee and Missouri I purchased one from Academy one from Sportsman Warehouse

[tonyjoverjr]

With regards to RVing and firearms, RVs/motorhomes are considered as a second home since it has all the amenities of a house. In this case, we can keep a licensed firearms in your motorhome regardless of state where you are in, as long as firearm is kept in accordance with laws in transporting firearms.

[joelobryan]

It's not illegal for a store to sell a magazine to anyone if it's legal to purchase in that state. The Magazine is not the firearm. Magazines are not serialized and have no 4473 background check requirement.
Here's a twist for you. I'm a Texas resident with a Texas DL. I used to be an Arizona legal resident and still have my AZ-issued CCP and a AZ ID card with the address of my AZ home where I stay when I'm in AZ. AZ law specifically allows non-residents to hold their CCP. I can use my AZ CCP and AZ ID to purchase a firearm in AZ, fill out the 4473 with my AZ info and since I have a CCP in AZ the AZ FFL simply notes that on the 4473 and doesn't have to submit my 4473 info to NICS to get a proceed.

[santamanone]

You missed the exemption for military personnel stationed outside their home state.

[jimlongley]

While I was in the process of moving from IL to TX in 1999, I sold my Marlin 336C and bought a Ruger 1022 at a gun show in Dallas. Both transactions were FFL. I presented my IL driver's license and IL FOID on my purchase.

[sebastianminney]

Fun fact the court of Appeals for the 5th circuit was one vote away from saying the interstate handgun ban was unconstitutional the vote for en banc failed by one vote if it didn't I believed the full court would have said it was unconstitutional