I'm late to the party, but I believe that @Gelrir has hit the nail on the head. I researched the same thing a couple of years ago. The 'contiguous states' rule was federal law at one time, but was changed circa 1986.The "Legal Information Institute" of Cornell Law has "notes" about amendments, etc.. They show:
Subsec. (b)(3)(A). Pub. L. 99–308, § 102(4)(B), inserted a new cl. (A) and struck out former cl. (A) which provided that par. (3) “shall not apply to the sale or delivery of a rifle or shotgun to a resident of a State contiguous to the State in which the licensee’s place of business is located if the purchaser’s State of residence permits such sale or delivery by law, the sale fully complies with the legal conditions of sale in both such contiguous States, and the purchaser and the licensee have, prior to the sale, or delivery for sale, of the rifle or shotgun, complied with all of the requirements of section 922(c) applicable to intrastate transactions other than at the licensee’s business premises,”.
The substitution was the result of Public Law 99-308, of May 19, 1986. Google has the amendment list, but not the "prior" language: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-100/pdf/STATUTE-100-Pg449.pdf#page=3
Is this what you were looking for?
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Michael
As it stands right now:
- All new firearms sales & interstat must go through an FFL somewhere.
- Long gun transfers can go through an FFL in any state, but the sale must comply with the laws of both states.
- Handgun transfers must go through an FFL in the transferee's state of residence.
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