Please enlighten me on US gun laws

[armoredman]

CZBushie, the guys reminded me of a few things I forgot about AZ. One, we are also a shall issue state, modeled after Floridas. Two, we also have a pre-emtion law preventing more restrictive laws at the county, city or local levels. And three, a biggie for some - private sale do not need to go through a dealer, like I believe CA is that way. I must caution it is up to the seller whether or not the buyer is legal or not! But I have purchased most of the guns I have owned through private sales. Anyone who is progun is welcome to move here - we are still getting a bunch of CA refugees. We have maybe 6 or 7 million in the whole state, so plenty of room to be had, plus Pima County is putting in that nice new public shooting range, and I hear Maricopa County is doing the same....well? Any takers?
   Dave
   PS Utah and Idaho are nice too, to make ut83 and CZ75ID happy....

[TangoFourNovember]

Here in Kanada, it's a whole differant ballgame again. Things have just changed a whole lot, once again so I hope I get it right.
  You want to buy a gun. First you must get an Firearms Acquistion Certificate. (Now called Possision and Acquisiton) To do this, one must take a course at a range or with a hunting club or something. They do the back ground checks and everything. Need statements from I think 2 separate people with good jobs (lawyer, minister, judge, cop etc) that you have know for at least 2 years. Need to anwser lots of personal questions. Have you lost a job for any reason? Are you divorced? (They will talk to your wife/ex whatever) Have you every commited a crime (that they will know anyway) Have you been treated for depression and stuff like that. Mine is coming up for rewnewal next year, and I have lost my job (aviation, due to Sept 11) and my wife has also left me, so that will all come into play next year. Will my application be refused?? I hope not!
    Then after passing the course and all the questioning, and paying the fee. (It used to be $10 but last time it was $50 and will undoubtedly go up) It's good for five years. That allows you to purchase long guns. Nowadays the long gun must be registered at time of purchase. For a handgun you must belong to a club. Handguns have been registered in Kanada since 1935 and somehow people continue to get murdered with them. (How can that happen??? Then again, as often as not it's an unregistered handgun anyway. Does that mean registering guns prevent crime?? I don't think so. Registered handguns still murder people too.) As for carry, forget about it. Going to the range it must have a trigger lock and be in a locked hard case. No loaded mags can be in the case either.
   Only people allowed to carry are cops, high-risk transportation specialists (ei armored car guards) and of course, the commom criminal. The first two catagoies must carry exposed in a holster. The latter, any way he wants. (violen case, guitar case, wiastband, etc)
    It is getting harder in Kanada, that's for sure.
    Sorry for the bitterness, but that's how I feel. At least here, you guys will understand!!

[CZBushie]

Sheesh - It sounds like you guys in Kanada (Canada?) have it a lot worse than us here in S.Africa. We also have to take a shooting course and a (simple!) multiple choice exam. Its as easy as pie. Once your application has been submitted to our legislative capital, then you have to wait, and wait, and wait, till you get the call to say you were denied or granted the permit. Once you are granted this, you are allowed to carry in a holster, loaded and ready to fire...if the need arises. Guys carrying concealed firearms are very common here in S.Africa. I would estimate that around 10 - 15% of the working class population is armed. Thats a lot! Just my estimation though.

The laws here are not as tough as in Kanada (Canada?) though...once you have your permit, you can do basically anything with your firearm, except commit crime of course! DUH!

Is there anyone here from other countries who would like to inform us guys of your local laws concering purchasing a firearm and or CCW?

CZB

[SDDLUP]

Beware of catch phrases like "illegal guns". We need to be more concerned with gun ownership by violent criminals. An "illegal gun" could simply be the result of oppressive and unconstitutional (in the US) gun laws, not really have anything to do with violent criminal activity. I would not live in a lot of states because of their rabid anti-gun climates.


"Arm yourself, arm a friend!"

[jfrost23]

In Iowa, we can purchase handguns by getting a permit to purchase pistols...requiring a short course given by the sheriff's department...and, if the sheriff is reasonable, a permit to carry concealed weapons is also available, since the background check from the permit to purchase was already done.  These must be renewed annually, allowing for some assurance of a timely check on an individual's criminal history.  Concealed Carry permit renewal is $5.  Long gun purchases from licensed dealers require either a background check via national computer base or the possession of a pistol permit to purchase or concealed weapon permit.  Private transfers of long guns are legal as long as there are no legal disqualifications due to felonies or mental instabilities.
 Most of this makes sense, despite being somewhat intrusive compared to previous years.  I find it all too easy for the federal government to stop guns sales by simply "unplugging" the federal computer.  Aside from that, virtually every gun law that comes out of Washington has one goal....to simply make it tougher for the law-abiding to own firearms.  The stupid gun show laws being proposed are like the rest of what comes from the left wing, including AZ Senator John McCain.  States have regulatory rights, so they can determine what is "suitable for militia use", even though a good share of the state politicians have no idea who the militia (constitutional definition) is.  They think it's the National Guard...it's not, since the National Guard wasn't around in the 1700's and is a "select group" of federal soldiers with a dual mission under the direct authority of the US Congress.  The constitutional balance of power may seem confusing, but it makes sense...especially when recognizing the 2nd Amendment as an individual right.  In many ways, the state laws are more important than the federal laws.

[armoredman]

Those of us in AZ no longer claim John Mctraitor as our senator.
   Dave

[jfrost23]

Hope we can finally shake off Tom Harkin in Iowa.  He's the liberal's liberal...and has the backing of the Des Moines Register at every turn.  Strange...one election we can keep Sen. Charles Grassley in office...but the freebie crowd really comes out to put in Harkin.  A lot of people own firearms in Iowa....you'd think they'd have had enough.

[Glockguy-23]

The only way to unseat someone like Harkin is for the people, like yourself, to get active.  And I mean "really" active!  Get enough voters together, and they can accomplish anything they set out to do.  Good luck!