Bringing gun on airplane to IL (weird situation...)

Ummmmm....

I want to bring my gun that I'll be buying in Ohio back home to Illinois.

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If you are a legal resident of IL you cannot legally purchase a handgun in OH. You may not be able to legally purchase a long gun in OH though I am not sure about that (to the best of my knowledge one can purchase long guns and maybe handguns in states contiguous to one's state of residence - emphasis on to the best of my knowledge). In short I doubt if you will be buying a gun in OH with that IL driver's license - at least not from a federally licensed firearms dealer anyway.

So - unless you've somehow already purchased that gun in OH - you really don't have a problem. If you have - already bought a gun in OH that is - store it at a friend's house, get your IL FOID when you go there and have your friend mail the gun to you care of a local gun dealer. If that's not possible the dealer you bought it from in OH may store it for you for a fee (though that's a longshot IMO as he'd have to log it into inventory etc and he's a dealer not a storage facility). AND if you didn't buy it from a dealer and you don't have a friend to store it for you - well - good luck with that.

In short - no gun - no problem. Gun - you're between a rock and a hard place.

How would they find out? Are you concerned that information will arrive at your home? Do they open your mail?

At any rate, going on the research you posted. You are a resident and not an out of state visitor/hunter. The FOID rules apply to you. IMHO

Illinois requires a Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card to possess a gun, which I can't have because I would need to use my Illinois home address and I don't want my parents finding out about this... (I am 21 though)

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Sounds like you allready answered your question. If you're not moving back in with your parents see about getting your address changed. Otherwise I don't recommend trying to hoodwink the State of IL or your parents.

Also how do you plan on purchasing said pistol in OH with your IL ID? Even if you do manage to get it your still breaking the law by taking it back to IL immediately.

You can't get a FOID card unless you are an Illinois resident.

You can't legally buy a handgun in Ohio if you are an Illinois resident.

You need to apply for your Illinois FOID card. Then, you need to buy your gun IN ILLINOIS.

If you are maintaining that Illinois is still your legal residence while you are attending college in Ohio, then you need to be consistent with that and you MUST follow state law.

There is no legal way for you to buy the gun in Ohio and bring it into Illinois. The TSA is the least of your worries here.

Can't he buy a gun if he has it sent to an FFL in Illinois? As long as he gets hos FOID, then he can pick it up in Illinois.

It must be a special gun for you to go through the trouble - can't you wait until after you get home?

Change your residency to Ohio. Problem solved.

Is this a handgun or longarm? everbody seems to be assuming handgun. I'm guessing because of the 21 thing? Buying long arms outside your state of residence is usually easier than out of state handgun.

Several wrong asnwers above but here is what I know to be true:

1. Yes you can legally buy any gun out of state with or without the FOID card, but a handgun has to be shipped to an IL FFL while a long gun can you can pick up and take home. I have bought several rifles in MO that I did not need a FOID card and did not have to register the firearm with the State of IL

2. You are an Illinois resident so to own that gun in IL you have to have a FOID card. Plain and simple, in IL you have to have a FOID card, cross the border to IN, MO or IA you don't have to have it. I routinely buy ammo, reloading supplies, firearms etc in MO, hunted in 5 different states where a FOID card was not required.

3. A resident of another state does not have to have a FOID card to possess a firearm in IL, provided they are legally able to possess a firearm in their home state.

Change your residency to Ohio. Problem solved.

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The two more immediate options are either buying the gun in IL or breaking the law.

Which one do you think your parents would prefer?

I see several wrong answers listed above, but the following I do know to be true:

1. You do not have to have a FOID card to purchase a firearm in another state. However if you are buying a handgun you do have to have it shipped to a FFL in IL to pick it up. Long guns you can pick up in store and take home. Done it several times in MO and KY with both ammunition and firearms.

2. If you are an IL resident you have to have a FOID card to possess a firearm in IL. Cross the border to IN, KY, MO or go to KS and you do not need it. Hunted in these states several times and it is not required.

3. You do not need a FOID card if you are an out of state resident in IL. Kinda gray area here as to if you are actually living in IL but not a resident but I do know out of state hunters and target shooters do not need to have a FOID card.

Honestly to be legal you have to do one of 2 things, become an OHIO resident or get the IL FOID card. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and you will have trouble your way by not doing one of these things

It must be a special gun for you to go through the trouble - can't you wait until after you get home?

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He's 21.

wierd situation

Many years ago - before 9/11 but after metal detectors, I flew home for the holidays with a friends gun. It was a 18th cent flintlock pistol for which I was going to make a new mainspring. At the SF airport I handed my bag to the check-in agent and explained about the valuable antique pistol. He said that they would deliver it to the plane by hand and deliver it to me at the destination. Fine
I changed planes in Dallas and going up the jetway was an employee with my bag waiting for me. Now I had the gun behind the security zone and still had a leg of my flight to go. I walked onto the next plane and flew to my destination with the pistol in the overhead compartment. Sweating bullets the whole way!

<<I'm a college student studying in Ohio (been here for 4 years) and my hometown is Illinois. This winter break, I want to bring my gun that I'll be buying in Ohio back home to Illinois.>>

You are an Illinois resident, and you are simply in Ohio for school. Illinois laws and FOID apply to you, you are not exempt.

Follow the law, you know what you are trying to do is ILLEGAL. Please do not ask us for ways to skirt the law regaurding firearms.

First of all, everyone seems to be ignoring (or are ignorant of) the fact that under BATF rules, if your legal residence is in IL, and you are attending college in Ohio, then you can lawfully purchases a firearm - INCLUDING A HANDGUN - in either state, as long as you and the dealer follow the applicable state laws.
While you are a LEGAL resident of IL (I assume you are registered to vote there), during the periods when you are living in Ohio to attend collecge, you are an ACTUAL resident of Ohio. The same sort of thing would apply if you had a job and an apartment in Ohio, and you returned to your regular home in IL on weekends. During the week, you could buy a gun in Ohio, and on weekends would be able to buy a gun in IL.
The only hitch in all this would be if your state laws require a local driver's license to purchase a firearm. Since the federal "Real ID" act prohibits a person from having more than one driver's license, that could make things a bit sticky.
For more information on dual state residency, see the "Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide (2005)" and look on page 40 under "State of Residence".

If nothing else, the Illinois FOID card is going to be an issue. If you bring the gun into Illinois, you need the FOID card, as you are claiming Illinois residency.

Short of legally changing your residency to Ohio, I don't see any way around that. And they DO take that seriously in Illinois.

Seems like a lot of red tape for a gun

I wouldn't do it if any aspect of it is anything CLOSE to illegal.

Obtaining an Ohio DL in order to buy a gun in Ohio?

Like others have mentioned, why not just have an FFL dealer mail it to an IL FFL dealer? Or, just buy the stupid thing in IL when you are there.

The gun in question can't be so special that you might go to jail over it, is it?

Possession by an Illinois resident of a firearm/ammunition in Illinois without a FOID card is a class A misdemeanor, subject to 364 days in the county jail and loss of the "illegally" possessed item. The law has been interpreted to mean that you have the card on you while in possession of a weapon-people have been convicted who had a card, but did not have it on them. Although the average cop in my area of southern Illinois thinks you just have to have a card, not necessarily be in possession of the card while in handling your firearm. So, get a FOID card.

1. Yes you can legally buy any gun out of state with or without the FOID card, but a handgun has to be shipped to an IL FFL while a long gun can you can pick up and take home. I have bought several rifles in MO that I did not need a FOID card and did not have to register the firearm with the State of IL

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To purchase a long arm out of state the laws of both your home state AND the purchasing state must be obeyed.

There is a reason BATFE has a handbook of all state laws for dealers to refer to.

Like others have mentioned, why not just have an FFL dealer mail it to an IL FFL dealer? Or, just buy the stupid thing in IL when you are there.

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No FFL in Illinois will deliver a handgun to someone who does not have an FOID card.

He needs to decide if he is an Illinois resident or an Ohio resident and act accordingly.

It is true that he can be a part time resident of both states, but he will need to file his income taxes that way.