What states allow residents to buy and own firearms?

[Gifted]

It'll probably be easier to buy them here. The paperwork and such for bringing them in(and taking them back out) is nightmarish.

 

[Zen21Tao]

I agree with PILMAN that Florida is a great place to settle for its gun laws:

- Shall Issue Concealed Carry Permit
- GREAT reciprocation with other states
- No waiting period on Rifles and Shotguns
- 3 Day wait on hanguns UNLESS you have Concealed Carry Permit then no wait
- Legal to buy rifles from contiguous states
- NFA ok
- Castle Doctrine
- Stand Your Ground law
- No registration, No restrictions on number of gun you are allowed to buy per month, No permit required to buy/own gun, No FOID type cards required to buy a gun. Just walk in, see what you want, pay for it, pass background check and if its a rifle, shotgun, or a handgun and you have a Concealed permit you leave right then with it. If it is a handgun and you don't have CCW, then come back and pick it up in 3 days.

and I'm sure there are more benefits I failed to metion.

 

[Powderman]

Washington State IS a good place for CCW--I believe that it was the first state in the Nation to have a provision for CCW.

No license to own, shall issue CCW--good times!

Now, here's what sucks about WA State:

1. No full auto ownership. Period. Not even law enforcement officers. Agencies can own them, but they are non transferable.

2. No Short Barreled Rifles or shotguns (SBS/SBR). Ownership of the above is illegal here.

3. There is, however, good news and bad news about suppressors. The good news is that you CAN own them.

The bad news is that you can NOT mount them on a firearm. :banghead: (Hey, don't ask me...I didn't write the law!)

The States surrounding us, however, have much better climates for firearms ownership--CCW, Class II and III legal in all aspects as soon as you complete the paperwork.

 

[justashooter]

good luck in your attempt to win a lottery slot. these are highly contested, and not available to many countries like india and china. the lottery is closed to them because they have so many illegals who have overstayed student visas, etc.

america is where you want to be. pennsylvania is nice, and the south central portion has a four season climate and proximity to baltimore, with lots of job opportunity.

 

[nobody_special]

I'll chime in as the 3rd person in this thread to recommend New Mexico, as it probably only ranks behind Alaska and Vermont for being gun-friendly. (However you must be a US citizen to get a CCL in New Mexico.) I think Montana and Wyoming are also very gun-friendly, as well as very beautiful and mostly rural states. I understand that Kentucky is good too.

 

[PromptCritical]

I was under the impression that you could mount the suppressor in WA, but you break the law if you fire the weapon with the can mounted....

BTW: We have no such silly laws in Oregon. Do what you like.

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

Maybe I should get some guns while I'm still here, and take them with me...saves me the 3 months of residency required.

you'd need permission to import them from the US Federal Government. i believe you would have to contact the State Department.

 

[Glockfan.45]

I always thought Swedens laws were fairly acceptable compared to the rest of Europe. I could be mistaken I suppose.

Can I buy NFA stuff as well?

Depends on the state. Some states allow all the NFA catagories Full Auto, SBRs, Silencers, AOWs, DDs. Some states only allow certian catagories for example Full Auto, SBRs, and AOWs but no silencers or DDs. Vermont or Alaska are the two most gun friendly states in the country. NY, MD, NJ, CA, IL I would stay away from.

 

[wdlsguy]

Vermont or Alaska are the two most gun friendly states in the country.

Strangely enough, Vermont doesn't allow suppressors, and it doesn't issue carry permits, which can be useful for reciprocity purposes.

 

[cbsbyte]

Highly restrictive states: New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Hawaii, and California.

These states are restrictive but not as bad as the first group. Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delware.

 

[Diesel man]

Zen21Tao
Are you sure theres no waiting period for rifles and shotguns?
Because I live in clearwater which is in pinellas county and last time I bought a rifle I had to wait 3 day waiting period.
Or did that law change and make it only for handguns?

 

[mpmarty]

You guys rave about New Mexico but don't tell the whole story. The state is awash in "Native American" lands and your state CCW permit is toilet paper to these idiots. No guns on the reservation, period. Most major highways cross reservation lands frequently and I understand the Native Cops like to stop travelers and arrest, jail, beat the crap out of and generally harass holders of valid CCW permits in New Mexico.

 

[MudCamper]

California is a very large state. Most of it is not nearly bad as non-Californians believe. There is a ban on purchasing magazines greater than 10 rounds (but you can own them). There is still a very restrictive "Assault Weapons" ban. There's a 10 day waiting period for all firearms purchases, which is an annoyance. Aside from that, you can own and shoot whatever you want. CCW is discretionary, determined by the local county sheriff. Most of the urban counties are of course very unfriendly to gun-rights so of course no CCWs there, but many of the rural counties are very pro-gun, and the sheriffs do issue CCWs. Also in Northern California there are millions and millions of acres of beautiful National Forest and BLM land where you can carry and shoot freely.

 

[Eleven Mike]

My wife is a resident alien and can buy guns with the same restrictions as a citizen and can get a CCW if I would let her.

You have to "let her"?

 

[davhina]

Check out http://www.packing.org/state/

 

[nobody_special]

California is a very large state. Most of it is not nearly bad as non-Californians believe. There is a ban on purchasing magazines greater than 10 rounds (but you can own them)

You can't bring them into the state either. The following are prohibited in CA: manufacture, import, sale, giving or lending of large capacity (>10 round) magazines.

Effectively, they are banned with a grandfather clause for those who already had them [B}in the state of California.[/B]

 

[Powderman]

You guys rave about New Mexico but don't tell the whole story. The state is awash in "Native American" lands and your state CCW permit is toilet paper to these idiots. No guns on the reservation, period. Most major highways cross reservation lands frequently and I understand the Native Cops like to stop travelers and arrest, jail, beat the crap out of and generally harass holders of valid CCW permits in New Mexico.

If you encounter any problems at the hands of any Tribal Law Enforcement agency, contact (in this order): your State Police, the Governor's office and finally, the US Department of Justice. If you suffer a criminal act, contact the FBI and/or the US Marshal's Service.

I must take exception to this post; I know that there are bad apples out there, but for the most part Tribal Law Enforcement has moved forward in leaps and bounds.

The State of Washington is also "awash" in Tribal lands. On all of the reservations in the State, the CCW permit issued by the State of Washington--and also those permits issued by States that practice reciprocity with the State of Washington--are recognized.

Moreover, Tribal Law Enforcement agencies usually have in place jurisdictional understanding with the surrounding communities, in which suspects who are non-Tribal are turned over to the appropriate jurisdiction.

Finally, Tribal Law Enforcement Officers today are commissioned at the Federal level; they are required to attend the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center/Indian Police Academy at Artesia, New Mexico. This is a 5 month school, administered by the US Department of Justice, and is the same school and campus used by Customs and Border Patrol personnel.

Our agency is also fully cross-commissioned in the State of Washington, and we carry commissioning credentials with the City of Tacoma and with Pierce County.

You may have had a bad experience with some Tribal officers. For the most part, we are well-trained and professional police officers. Don't let one or two bad apples spoil your view.

Sincerely,

Eagle C Tovar Jr
Patrol Officer (Reserve)
Puyallup Tribal Police

a/k/a Powderman

 

[enfield]

Michigan isn't bad, except for their handgun registration. Tennessee's better.

 

[Zedicus]

Unarmed shooter, Check out Idaho or Montana

In both states Both Full-Auto and Suppressors are ok (with the proper paperwork), CCW is also available.

Here in Idaho we have very few restrictions on going target shooting, we have TONS of Public Land that you can shoot on with out any problems, some restrictions apply for hunting, we have a small town that Requires Gun ownership, and the state is considering adopting a castle doctrine, and many are promoting Vermont style carry.

Welcome to America!

 

[Glockfan.45]

You may have had a bad experience with some Tribal officers. For the most part, we are well-trained and professional police officers. Don't let one or two bad apples spoil your view.

My experience is limited to the time I spent living in Minn. There was an entire dept just rife with corruption. I could tell you of events that happened to myself and coworkers (I worked in a job that required much travel through indian lands) that would make you sick. As far as I am concerned I would avoid tribal lands at any cost. While I'm sure your a fine officer and some departments operate on the up and up I can tell you that in my six years of dealing with tribal police I never met a good one.

 

[joab]

Because I live in clearwater which is in pinellas county and last time I bought a rifle I had to wait 3 day waiting period.

State law says three day on handguns and none on long guns but locals can impose the wait to long guns and extend handguns to five days if they want

 

[Gene Beasley]

geekiness strikes again

Sorry, can't help myself.

Scroll down to "State NFA restrictions" in the NFA FAQ.

the pertinent info on NFA compiled into a spreadsheet and zipped in attachment.

 

[proud2deviate]

Missouri is semi-decent. My biggest gripes:

Suppressors are illegal. Ain't no way you can have one short of being a cop or military.

A "permit to acquire" is required on all handgun transfers. This is total BS, amounting to a ten dollar tax, de facto registration, and up to a week's wait depending on how nasty your local sherrif wants to be on any given day.

The highest age restriction on CCW in the nation (23 years) along with a totally convoluted application system. This is offset by the fact that the rest of the law is actually pretty decent. We'll recognise any license issued by any other state; hence, a 21 year old person could carry on a non-resident Florida license.

There's a bit in the law that states "shall not be a criminal offense," in regards to carrying in places you're not supposed to. So, if you take your gun into a bar, or an amusement park, or a stadium, or a place with a feel-good "no guns" sign, and it comes to somebody's attention that you're carrying, about the most that can happen is they can ask you to leave. If you refuse, they can summon a peace officer,who'll escort you from the premises and ticket you for trespassing (1st offense=$100)

So in order for you to get in trouble for carrying where you techniclly ought not, you're gun would have to spottable (sloppily concealed,) and you'd have to be not-too-bright, and a jerk to boot.

 

[The Viking]

PILMAN and Zen21Tao: Arent there a lot, really a lot of those armored creepy BLOODY HUGE lizards in your state? I don't wanna step on one if I'm just going around in the forest minding my own business

armoredman: many thanks for the link. (You know if they are they fuzzy about tattoos? Got no offensive stuff at all. None that shows atleast. )
Big thanks to everyone. I just hope I'm one of the lucky ones .
And I hope I won't spend all my money buying guns just for the novelty of just pointing(filling out paperwork)-paying-having
Licenses just sucks! I can't even get a can of pepperspray here :banghead: (not legally).
Glockfan .45: Our laws arent as bad as, say the U.K, or Poland, or China or Australia, but they arent as good as say, Norways, Finlands, big parts of the US, Czech Republic etc. All pistol licenses issued after 2000 are (in most cases) good only for five years, there are silly restrictions on what types of rifles that can be used for hunting (AR-15's and similar looking are no-no, Ruger Mini-14 and similar are OK), crossbows require a license, so does tear gas, pepper spray and stun guns/tazers, can't carry any kinds of sharp or blunt weaponry in public...the list goes on. The only good news is that the restrictions on silencers have been eased a bit. Silencers for Class 1 and 2 rifles (class only refers to power level) are almost shall issue .

 

[Sniper X]

New Mexico is great for gun guys, and the climate is great, 4 distinct seasons, none of them harsh. What do you do for a living?