Gun Gift Across State Line

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I'm new to MA and to handgunning and have a question about receiving a gun from out of state as a gift. I understand that the AG/EOPS lists don't restrict what the private citizen can own but rather restricts the type of gun that can be sold on the retail market. I've also read on another NES thread that there is no restriction on borrowing a gun across state lines. That leads me to believe that there should be no problem with my receiving a gun from out of state as a gift from a family member. Or, is this a more complicated scenario requiring a FA-10 because of the change of ownership?

As always, many thanks to the wise NES-ers for their advice.

jped
 
Pistols must be on the roster and comply with the AG regulations.

If the pistol was made prior to 1998 it does not need to comply with the AG BS but still must be on the roster unless it was previously registered in Ma before 1998.

If the pistol has a high cap magazine, the magazine must have been made before the AWB in 94.

The gun must be received through an FFL.
 
The gun must go through an FFL, if its a tansfer of ownership.

And any gun not on the roster / that the dealer won't accept,
will "bounce" and they won't be able to transfer it to
you.

The only ways you can legally transfer a handgun across state lines
are:

-Someone dies in whatever state and wills it to you; You get it
thereafter and register it on an FA-10.

-You're a Type 01 FFL, or you transfer the gun through someone who
is a Type 01 in MA. (This usually results in the bounce issue, unless you ARE
the FFL, or the one your using doesnt care, which is beyond rare, most of them won't take any risks, unless
it's 100% compliant or papered exempt).

-The person takes residency here, gets a resident LTC, and then transfers
you handguns they brought with them at a max rate of 4 per year. (not feasible idea
for most... )

Yes, theoretically someone could loan you a handgun, but that's a pretty
grey area. It's one of those things that, while arguably legal, is not
wanting to be tested. And if any cash changes hands, it's no
longer borrowing and then is a "straw purchase" or somesuch.

At one time I thought there was some sort of exemptions for
gifts between family members, but from what I understand, that doesn't
work if the recipient of the gun resides in another state. The BATF gift
exemption by itself is a pretty gray area to begin with.

-Mike
 
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Add to that list the case where you hold a C&R FFL, and the gun in question is C&R eligible (either 50+ years old and/or on the C&R list), in which case it can be shipped directly to you, or you can take possession of it out of state, then file an FA10 for registration when you bring it back into Massachusetts.

The "lending" of a firearm for some period of time might work if and and only if you can plausibly maintain (and convince the authorities should the question it) that there was no transfer of ownership involved.

Ken
 
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Mike,
That would not be a straw purchase, If both people are licensed.
A straw purchase is when a licensed person buys a gun for an unlicensed person.
Fred

Fred- Which part of my post are you responding to?

WRT borrowing a handgun, if the people are different state residents (the
subject of the original post) it could be construed as a straw if
one person pays the other for the firearm, or even pays them to
borrow or "rent" it. All private party ownership transfers or
sales that cross state lines, must go through at least one FFL on
the recipient's end, at least in the case of handguns.

-Mike
 
A straw purchase is a situation in which a buyer uses an intermediary (a "straw purchaser") through which to acquire one or more firearms from a licensed firearms dealer. The purpose is to hide the identity of the true purchaser or ultimate possessor of the firearm(s). Straw purchases and theft are common ways that prohibited people, such as convicted felons, obtain firearms.

In the United States, straw purchases are a felony violation of the Gun Control Act of 1968 for both the straw purchaser (who can also be charged with lying on Federal Form 4473) and the ultimate possessor.
 
A straw purchase is a situation in which a buyer uses an intermediary (a "straw purchaser") through which to acquire one or more firearms from a licensed firearms dealer. The purpose is to hide the identity of the true purchaser or ultimate possessor of the firearm(s). Straw purchases and theft are common ways that prohibited people, such as convicted felons, obtain firearms.

In the United States, straw purchases are a felony violation of the Gun Control Act of 1968 for both the straw purchaser (who can also be charged with lying on Federal Form 4473) and the ultimate possessor.

Its also important to note that a straw can still occur (in the BATFEs eyes)
even with marginal evidence, or no clear evidence of ill intent by either party.
The Michael Lara case is a perfect example of this. He bought a gun for a friend
in trouble, and ended up getting brought through the ringer as a result.

http://judiciary.house.gov/OversightTestimony.aspx?ID=582

Yes, I believe he was acquitted, but keep in mind the
cost. The point I'm trying to make is, beware of marginal
arrangments.... becuase if the BATFE gets a hair up its ass, then
bad things will start happening, regardless of what the intent of the parties
involved is. Those guys are typically like a chiuaua on a porkchop. They
will attack it regardless of wether or not they have a real case, so it's best
not to even give them a scent of the meat.

And yes, I know that case is a series of multiple bad consequences.... but it's still disturbing. It shows you
how little/petty things the feds are willing to prosecute over.


-Mike
 
Thanks for your replies everyone. In my case, this sounds like a lot of trouble that can be avoided. My father (army rangemaster in his former life) is so excited my new interest in handgunning that he wanted to buy me my first pistol. He'll be disappointed but it looks like he'll just have to settle for buying me my first reloading press instead. [smile]

jped
 
You asked for my thoughts in a PM, so here goes.

Borrowing is a bit of a touchy subject. It was RECOMMENDED by Chief Ron Glidden between family members as a pre-cursor to inheritance (in advance) to avoid the 1998 "transfer" problem with unapproved (essentially almost any old) handgun.

RKG (and attorney, and IANAL) raised some valid concerns that I would definitely give consideration to, especially if it were not direct family involved.

Your question (gift across state lines) is an area that I do NOT feel as comfortable trying to address it wrt MGLs and steering clear of BATFE laws/regs.

I think that the "cleanest way" to address this is for you to pick out a gun, buy it and have your Father give you the money to reimburse you for said gun.

I don't know if there are any other reasonable alternatives to this, keeping in mind that this isn't an area of expertise for me and IANAL.
 
Dusting off this old thread to ask a similar question.

A friend of mine wants to buy a shotgun from an FFL in Florida, have it shipped to an FFL in MA and give it to his father as an Xmas gift. Both he and his father have FIDs. If the son is the purchaser, does he need to take possession from the MA FFL and FA-10 it to his dad, or can he gift it to him at the MA FFL without transferring possession twice?
 
If he is in FL, he can buy it directly and bring it home with him and present it to his Father as a gift. No shipping or FFL to FFL transfers necessary.

If he's buying "long distance", why not have the FL FFL ship to the MA FFL and give the Father a card with "gift waiting for you at xyz gun shop" note in it?
 
What is the legality of this scenerio? If I wanted to give my father a handgun where I went to a shop or on line and paid for it, then had the FFL who received the money ship it to an FFL in my dad's state for him to do the paperwork and pick up. I would be paying for it, but he would do the paperwork and take possession of/own the handgun.
 
What is the legality of this scenerio? If I wanted to give my father a handgun where I went to a shop or on line and paid for it, then had the FFL who received the money ship it to an FFL in my dad's state for him to do the paperwork and pick up. I would be paying for it, but he would do the paperwork and take possession of/own the handgun.

It sounds legit to me (IANAL or FFL), since you are not actually taking possession of the firearm, it's an FFL to FFL transfer of inventory. Your Dad's FFL is doing the 4473 and any state paperwork with him. I think the biggest wrinkle is getting an FFL to agree to transfer it in this manner.
 
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