New member here, and also new to gun ownership! Quick legality question... MA residen

[Dalym1985]

Or just go to to NH and do it with nothing more than a handshake since the son is a bona fide NH resident.

I'm continually surprised by the number of people on this board who have places in NH and don't realize that they are legitimate residents when they are up there.

At the very least it's a great source for non-MA compliant handguns. Just fa10 it when y bring it in.

Even though I have a MA license?

 

[RockIt]

MA with its incredibly insane laws creates discussions like this one.

The gun is in NH.
The OP never stated he wanted to bring it into MA.

Unless he wants to bring the gun into MA there is nothing he has to do. Simply put, MA has no, repeat no, authority in NH or over what happens in NH. Following are the laws in NH:

Subject/Law	Long guns	Handguns	Relevant statutes	Notes
State Permit to Purchase?	No	No	NHRS XII §159:14
Firearm registration?	No	No
Assault weapon law?	No	No
Magazine Capacity Restriction?	No	No
Owner license required?	No	No
Carry License issued?	No	Yes	NHRS XII §159:6	License is shall-issue.
Open carry?	Yes	Yes	NHRS XII §159:6 NHRS XVIII §207:7	Handgun open carry without license except in a motor vehicle. Loaded long guns prohibited from motor vehicles.
State Preemption of local restrictions?	Yes	Yes	NHRS XII §159:26	Includes knives.
NFA weapons restricted?	No	No
Peaceable Journey laws?	No	No

They sure have you folks scared, don't they?

The clowns with gun stores in NH that get themselves all in a knot about selling ammuntion to a MA resident are also part of the problem. Yea, yea, I get it, they are all worried about the AG filing some ridiculous lawsuit. Time for your organization (GOAL) to establish a war chest to shove the AG's frivolous lawsuits up the his/her butt.

Edit: with the thinking on this board, I should be registering my guns with MA even though I live in NC. Who knows, the AG up there may decide to go national with MA gun laws. . . .

 

[dcmdon]

Even though I have a MA license?

It doesn't change your rights in NH. If you spend weekends in NH, you are a NH resident when you are there per the ATF.

By the way, you can also get a NH RESIDENT P&R license. I know people who have multiple residences in multiple states who have multiple RESIDENT carry licenses.

The two most obvious exmples of this being appropriate are:
1) Domiciled in MA with a weekend residence in NH.
2) Domiciled in FL with a summer place in MA. (Ma place usually where they originated, but if you are not stupid, you'll make your primary residence in FL and get the tax benefits)

 

[dcmdon]

They sure have you folks scared, don't they?

The clowns with gun stores in NH that get themselves all in a knot about selling ammuntion to a MA resident are also part of the problem.

Yes and Yes

What is so frustrating to me is that people are afraid to exercise their rights WITHIN the law.

 

[Squire]

Yes and Yes

What is so frustrating to me is that people are afraid to exercise their rights WITHIN the law.

The forefathers who fought on Lexington Green are rolling in their graves at how impotent we've become to Tyranny.

 

[WatchCityCPA]

I agree with you in your scenario.

But in this case, based on the OP there is no messing with fed law. There is no stretching.

If the OP spends weekends in NH at a family place per ATF regulation, he is a resident of NH. I've cited the instructions on the 4473 which EXPLICITLY gives an example of someone who is domiciled in one state and has a weekend residence in another state.

If the OP and his father both legitimately spend weekends there regularly, they are bona fide residents of NH per the ATF. This is not grey at all.

I would not advise stretching things if they did't spend time there. But the OP stated in the OP that:

We have a vacation home in NH that I love to go to almost every weekend.

There is no grey there. If you don't believe this, call the ATF like I did and ask them. I can give you the date of the my call and the name of the investigator if you need it

Again, I'd never advocate anyone lying on a 4473. Or even stretching the truth. However the OP has a place in NH that he goes to "almost every weekend". Per the ATF, he is a NH resident when he is there. Period.

If you are a U.S. citizen with two States of residence, you should list your current residence address in response to question 2 (e.g., if you are buying a firearm while staying at your weekend home in State X, you should list your address in State X in response to question 2).

Don

p.s. Please remember there is a difference between being domiciled in a state and being a resident of a state. You can be the resident of 20 states is you legitimately make a home in those states. You have only one domicile. Traditionally this is where your DL is located and where you vote.


****Update****9/2 - I spoke with an ATF inspector and he said uses the following litmus test: Do you keep clothing and belongings at the second residence? Do you have your own space? If so, its a residence. If not, you are visiting.

LenS,

I believe this to be a rare case where you might have been wrong.

Would you please address the domicile vs. residence point that dmcdon brings out? I believe you were describing a domicile test in your earlier post, not a residence test, and the ATF cares about residence.

 

[Dalym1985]

Well I do keep clothes and belongings at both "residences". And I split week time between both locations. My father also has clothes and belongings at both places and splits time at both.

 

[Dalym1985]

It doesn't change your rights in NH. If you spend weekends in NH, you are a NH resident when you are there per the ATF.

By the way, you can also get a NH RESIDENT P&R license. I know people who have multiple residences in multiple states who have multiple RESIDENT carry licenses.

The two most obvious exmples of this being appropriate are:
1) Domiciled in MA with a weekend residence in NH.
2) Domiciled in FL with a summer place in MA. (Ma place usually where they originated, but if you are not stupid, you'll make your primary residence in FL and get the tax benefits)

ill have to look into this. They won't give me hell with a mass license? It's my fathers house.

 

[Len-2A Training]

LenS,

I believe this to be a rare case where you might have been wrong.

Would you please address the domicile vs. residence point that dmcdon brings out? I believe you were describing a domicile test in your earlier post, not a residence test, and the ATF cares about residence.

Look again, I didn't post the quote. That was Don. I suggest addressing it to him.

------------

Domicile has no part in this discussion, it is strictly about residence. You are allowed more than 1 residence under Fed Law. Each state can make up their own rules as to what they will recognize and what they won't. Since MA has nothing in law, you get 351 potentially different interpretations. I can't speak for other states.

 

[dcmdon]

ill have to look into this. They won't give me hell with a mass license? It's my fathers house.

Do you mean with a mass drivers license? No.

Just fill out the P&R Resident application truthfully using your NH residence address.

Don

p.s. More primary documentation from the ATF:

https://www.atf.gov/file/55496/download

In it, it says (paragraph breaks added by me):

A person’s “State of residence” is defined by regulation in 27 CFR 478.11 as “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.”

Ownership of a home or land within a given State is not sufficient, by itself, to establish a State of residence. (For example, you own a piece of land without a home on it and don't ever live there - Don)

However,ownership of a home or land within a particular State is not required to establish presence
and intent to make a home in that State.

Furthermore, temporary travel, such as short-term
stays, vacations, or other transient acts in a State are not sufficient to establish a State of
residence because the individual demonstrates no intention of making a home in that State.