Son is coming home from Florida

[TapRackBang]

If you do not know about dual residency, it is not wise to guess.

I agree, you should not guess about dual residency. There is no such thing except for narrow exceptions for military, and even narrower exceptions by the ATF for college students (as provided by WeiShen).

Outside of those, you can't have dual residency in two states.

From: http://www.residencyhq.com/dual-residency/

Dual residency in multiple states within the US borders is a sought-after and highly prized status. When investigating how you can be a resident of two or more states at one time, you may find suggestions that the process is quite easy. Or you may hear from a friend or neighbor that they are currently doing it, and have had no problem. The issue surrounding dual state residency, is that quite frankly, it is a myth. No one person can legally be a resident of two or more states at any given time.

 

[Inigoes]

I agree, you should not guess about dual residency. There is no such thing except for narrow exceptions for military, and even narrower exceptions by the ATF for college students (as provided by WeiShen).

Outside of those, you can't have dual residency in two states.

From: http://www.residencyhq.com/dual-residency/

As I said before. A drivers license is not the only residency document.

Look again:

Q: What constitutes residency in a State?

The State of residence is the State in which an individual is present; the individual also must have an intention of making a home in that State. A member of the Armed Forces on active duty is a resident of the State in which his or her permanent duty station is located. If a member of the Armed Forces maintains a home in one State and the member’s permanent duty station is in a nearby State to which he or she commutes each day, then the member has two States of residence and may purchase a firearm in either the State where the duty station is located or the State where the home is maintained. An alien who is legally in the United States is considered to be a resident of a State only if the alien is residing in that State and has resided in that State continuously for a period of at least 90 days prior to the date of sale of the firearm. See also Item 5, “Sales to Aliens in the United States,” in the General Information section of this publication.

[18 U.S.C. 921(b), 922(a) (3), and 922(b)(3), 27 CFR 478.11]

Q: May a person (who is not an alien) who resides in one State and owns property in another State purchase a handgun in either State?

If a person maintains a home in 2 States and resides in both States for certain periods of the year, he or she may, during the period of time the person actually resides in a particular State, purchase a handgun in that State. However, simply owning property in another State does not qualify the person to purchase a handgun in that State.

[27 CFR 478.11]

http://www.atf.gov/content/firearms-frequently-asked-questions-unlicensed-persons#state-residency

 

[TapRackBang]

Look again:

OK, I looked, and that confirms (even narrows further) what I said: There is no such thing as dual-residency unless you are military on assigned duty. In all other cases (including college) you must actually be living in the state where you want to purchase the handgun. You are only a resident of one state at a time.

 

[Inigoes]

OK, I looked, and that confirms (even narrows further) what I said: There is no such thing as dual-residency unless you are military on assigned duty. In all other cases (including college) you must actually be living in the state where you want to purchase the handgun. You are only a resident of one state at a time.

As I posted previously, not in the BATFE's eyes

 

[TapRackBang]

As I posted previously, not in the BATFE's eyes

You mean this?

If a member of the Armed Forces maintains a home in one State and the member’s permanent duty station is in a nearby State to which he or she commutes each day, then the member has two States of residence and may purchase a firearm in either the State where the duty station is located or the State where the home is maintained.

Your emphasis takes it out of context. That exception is only for active military as the complete sentence makes clear.

 

[j_h_smith]

THIS!

OP, stop posting here now as your son may be in hot water if he was not actually a Florida resident when he purchased his firearms.
There is no such thing as "dual residency" for non-military. EDIT: WeiShen points out below that the ATF does consider a college student a "resident" of the state where the college if the student has a home there and it is "during the school term". So long as the firearms were purchased during a school term, he's OK. If not, he may still be in trouble.

How many times have I said he bought these firearms while he was attending college. He didn't break any laws.

Jim Smith

 

[j_h_smith]

So you are saying he was an MD resident and illegally purchased regulated firearms be misrepresenting himself as an FL resident?????

How many times do I have to type this, he was a resident of Florida while attending college.

Please stop post your best guesses.

Jim Smith

 

[j_h_smith]

Going to have to break my lurker status here.



This is not true, and this rumor needs to die.

There is a specific exemption for full-time college students. It is a small slice that has been cut out for students (and I have no idea why); Maybe they assume we can't afford it

Pursuant to ATF Ruling 80-21: http://www.atf.gov/files/regulations-rulings/rulings/atf-rulings/atf-ruling-80-21.pdf



As such, you can buy regulated firearms during the time you maintain a full-time residence for (full-time) education purposes, because you are treated as a resident of that state with full rights and privileges while you are actively enrolled in physical classes (vs. online or distance learning). Usually an FFL will ask you for proof of enrollment, and some kind of government issued ID that states your out-of-state college address (fishing license, hunting license, court documents, etc).

Me and several of my school colleagues regularly purchase "regulated firearms" in the state we attend school, even though we have MD or other state licenses. I myself have acquired AR-15s and handguns, before and after Oct 1st.

Any AR-15s or "banned" weapons he has acquired before Oct 1st, 2013 must be registered by 90 days.

Any AR-15s or "banned" weapons he has acquired after Oct 1st, 2013, may not be bought into the state of MD.

As per the MC license thing, that is a little tricky. Usually you forfeit your previous license when you get a new one, as you show intent to move "the majority of your possessions" and intend to settle in a new state. But it seems that FL does something different as they allow you to get just a MC license. The tricky situation is that you used that MC license to prove "residency" in FL for an institution of higher learning. As such, the MD residency is not an issue anyways, and it doesn't change my statements above. Register the weapons, and don't bring your banned post-oct 1st purchases into MD.


And good for him for finding an FFL that actually knows and respects the law. A lot of FFLs don't want to touch the student exemption with a 10 ft. pole, because they are unaware of its existence in the first place.

-W

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Jim Smith

 

[j_h_smith]

As I said before. A drivers license is not the only residency document.

Look again:



http://www.atf.gov/content/firearms-frequently-asked-questions-unlicensed-persons#state-residency

Thank you!!!

Jim Smith

 

[j_h_smith]

OK, I looked, and that confirms (even narrows further) what I said: There is no such thing as dual-residency unless you are military on assigned duty. In all other cases (including college) you must actually be living in the state where you want to purchase the handgun. You are only a resident of one state at a time.

As I have said many times over, he was living in Florida with an Ormond Beach address while attending Embry Riddle College for the last 5 years. That would mean he had a valid address which in Florida allows that person to obtain a State of Florida Motorcycle license.

There have been NO laws broken, none, nada, zilch.

Jim Smith

 

[anderson76]

You need to think of the concept of residency as a matter degree as opposed to an all or nothing proposition.

What it means to be a “resident” of this state (or any other) depends on the context. Generally speaking, the concept of residency, at its most basic level requires an individual to have some non-transient presence within the state. How much presence and for how long depends upon context. For example, the residency requirements to get a license or register to vote are minimal. To receive in-state benefits or to qualify for in-state tuition the residency requirements are considerably higher. In some cases, the definitions of what it means to be a “resident” are well defined, ex: in-state tuition, driver’s license requirements, MD income tax. In other cases, such as our firearm’s laws, what it means to be a resident is not defined. There is not one definition of “resident” for all circumstances. You may be taxed as a MD resident buy not allowed to vote in MD. You might be a resident for the purposes of ABC and a non-resident for the purposes of XYZ.

And you better believe that you can be a resident of multiple states.

So how does this affect your son? While he was residing in Florida he purchased what MD labels as a regulated firearm and post-SB281 labels as an AW. There is no violation of federal law as reflected in the BATF opinion posted by WeiShen. While I know next to nothing about FL law, I’m guessing he is O.K. in that regard as well (I’m operating on the assumption that FL imposes few restrictions on long guns – I could be wrong). The question now becomes can he “move back” to MD and retain his firearms. As others have pointed out, those moving to MD in lawful possession of post Oct 1st AWs can continue to possess those AWs so long as they are duly registered in accordance with the Code.


However, there may be a problem with respect to the restrictions imposed upon by PS § 5-137 which, in pertinent part, provides:

§ 5-137. Out-of-state purchases

(a) Requirements for purchase. -- A person who seeks to own a regulated firearm and purchases the regulated firearm from an out-of-state federally licensed gun importer, manufacturer, or dealer shall:

(1) have the federally licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer ship the regulated firearm to a licensee for processing; and

(2) comply with §§ 5-103, 5-104, 5-117 through 5-129, and 5-136 of this subtitle.

So the question that needs to be answered is whether your son falls within the class of persons subjects to the restriction against on out-of-state purchases contained in § 5-137? Logic dictates that the “A person seek to own . . .” language refers to MD residents (a non-transient presence of some sort). Like I mentioned above, the definition of resident can be narrow or broad depending on context. Within the context of § 5-137 what it means to be a resident is not made clear. He lived in FL for 5 years but maintained a MD DL. Did he own vehicles title or registered in MD? What mailing addresses did he use? Did he visit often? Did he have ready access to a MD abode while in FL? What address did he provide for tax returns, student loan apps, professional licesnses, ect.? Intent also plays a role in these questions. What was his intent? Did he always intend to come home. While the MD DL does not automatically make a MD resident it is certainly evidence of his intent to be a MD resident.

As is so often the case with questions presented by MD firearms law – the answer to your question is a resounding maybe.

 

[WeiShen]

So how does this affect your son? While he was residing in Florida he purchased what MD labels as a regulated firearm and post-SB281 labels as an AW. There is no violation of federal law as reflected in the BATF opinion posted by WeiShen. While I know next to nothing about FL law, I’m guessing he is O.K. in that regard as well (I’m operating on the assumption that FL imposes few restrictions on long guns – I could be wrong). The question now becomes can he “move back” to MD and retain his firearms. As others have pointed out, those moving to MD in lawful possession of post Oct 1st AWs can continue to possess those AWs so long as they are duly registered in accordance with the Code.


However, there may be a problem with respect to the restrictions imposed upon by PS § 5-137...

I always wondered if the college student thing would ever be debated in this board lol. The exception is so rare and narrow (I can count, on maybe two hands, the number of students around here that purchase under ATF 80-21. Maybe because the average college student might be broke or shoot with friends )

Still a moot point. If he invoked 80-21, he still was considered a resident of FL with full rights and privileges within the lens of gun ownership. His MD residence did not matter. The laws halt at the State line, unless he was not considered a resident (i.e. took a vacation to Florida and decided to detour to a gun shop.)

There are multiple students around here who purchase firearms during their time in school. You have to deal with your local laws during your move back, (i.e. I cannot bring back certain firearms with me that were purchased after Oct 1st - registry or no registry: I simply was not a MD resident with regards to firearm laws, clear and cut. You simply cannot bring back an "assault weapon" purchased after Oct 1st.). No different than a PA gun owner who decides (for some reason or another) to move to MD with his personal collection.

It is also important to note, that as per 80-21, your residency "flips" whenever you are residing at home. Pursuant to ATF Ruling 80-21:

The regulation also provides an example of an individual who maintains a home in State X and a home in State Y. The individual regularly resides in State X except for the summer months and in State Y for the summer months of the year. The regulation states that during the time the
individual actually resides in State X he is a resident of State X, and during the time he actually resides in State Y he is a resident of State Y.

Remember we're still talking about full-time college students taking actual physical classes and living on/off campus.


To open another can of worms, he technically could not have bought firearms during these periods. For example, during official university holidays when classes are not in session (like winter break, thanksgiving, etc), the ATF does not consider us local residents anymore because you'll go from college student to "out of state dude who decided to rent an apartment here", and I cannot purchase firearms. It is at this point local FFLs like to point and laugh and make communist jokes.