Definition of 30-Day Waiting Period?

Okay, so I've seen some references to this here, but can't find them now.

The law is that "a person may not purchase more than one regulated firearm in a 30-Day period."

How is that period determined? From the date the firearm is paid for (which I would have assumed), or the date it's received after the 7-day MSP waiting period?

One FFL has insisted it's receipt/pick-up. Another now insists it's when the paperwork is dated (and assumedly payment made).

The issue is, I was filling out pink paperwork yesterday, on the 30th day after having picked up my previous handgun. The FFL said I should not check the block that I'd purchased in the past 30 days -- because what counted was not the date of pick-up, but the date I had filled out the previous paperwork.

Anything to be worried about? The pick-ups will still be more than 30 days apart, but did I lie on the paperwork?

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It's pickup. There's a thread around here where somebody had doc from MSP stating that you could do the paperwork closer as long as you spread out the releases properly.

jonnyl said:

It's pickup. There's a thread around here

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Yeah, I searched but couldn't find it. Would be nice to see an authoritative reference for that. Because to me, as a lay-person," I "purchase" something when I pay for it and have a purchase receipt... otherwise the law would have said I can't "receive" a regulated firearm more-often than every 30 days...

Mark K said:

Okay, so I've seen some references to this here, but can't find them now.

The law is that "a person may not purchase more than one regulated firearm in a 30-Day period."

How is that period determined? From the date the firearm is paid for (which I would have assumed), or the date it's received after the 7-day MSP waiting period?

One FFL has insisted it's receipt/pick-up. Another now insists it's when the paperwork is dated (and assumedly payment made).

The issue is, I was filling out pink paperwork yesterday, on the 30th day after having picked up my previous handgun. The FFL said I should not check the block that I'd purchased in the past 30 days because what counted was not the date of pick-up, but the date I had filled out the previous paperwork.

Anything to be worried about? The pick-ups will still be more than 30 days apart, but did I lie on the paperwork?

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Short answer is No. Yes, this has been beaten to death in prior threads, but continues to be a source of disagreement. This is a summary:

One camp (Camp 1) - those that think the MSP has the power to create and/or interpret law inconsistent with the plain language of the statute - will say its 30 days between pick ups, because they say that's how the MSP interprets it, and that's how they think the Legislature intended it. Yet the 30 day requirement in the statute clearly says "purchase," and absolutely nothing about pickup, transfer or receipt (which are also terms of art used elsewhere within the Public Safety Article sections on Firearms). Statutes are to be interpreted according to their plain meaning unless ambiguous (i.e. susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation), in which case the Legislative history and intent can be referred to. Again, the statute doesn't say pickup, transfer, or receive (even though those terms are used elsewhere within the section), it says "purchase' which is not specifically defined in the statute to mean anything other than the plain ordinary meaning of "purchase" you would find in the dictionary.


The other camp (Camp 2) - those that believe purchase simply means what it means - say the 30 days runs between paying for your firearm (not necessarily just putting a deposit on it), getting a receipt for it, and filling out and submitting a 77R form.

I am in Camp 2, but I am not looking for trouble, so while I do believe 30 days between purchases, just like the statute says, is correct, I still make it a point to wait 30 days for the next pick up. Its seems that is what you have done.

The local shop and/or FFL have a lot on the line, but you are the one filling out the form. Even so, I think most defer to the individual dealers interpretation, if they even ask.

And before it even gets started, there is a third camp (Camp 3) that will say just get your Designated Collector's License, so you can purchase, pick up, or whatever more than one within 30 days and stop worrying about it, but that wasn't your question.

There are likely other camps too, e.g., the purchase is made when you pay and fill out the form, but not consummated until you pick up after the 7 day waiting period, and other variants as well.

This is all caused by an ill-conceived and poorly worded statute, and now we have SB281 which makes it worse. Pick a Camp

Mark K said:

Yeah, I searched but couldn't find it. Would be nice to see an authoritative reference for that. Because to me, as a lay-person," I "purchase" something when I pay for it and have a purchase receipt... otherwise the law would have said I can't "receive" a regulated firearm more-often than every 30 days...

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I think you're really making a "purchase agreement" and a pre-payment. It's not your property until you complete the deal.

jonnyl said:

I think you're really making a "purchase agreement" and a pre-payment. It's not your property until you complete the deal.

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IMO, if you pay in full you have purchased the item, but you can not receive a regulated firearm (now handguns) pending the 7 day waiting period, so it is a quasi-bailment situation. You own it but the dealer maintains possession of it. If a ND doesn't come back, it's still your firearm - you just don't have possession of it and will have to get a credit upon returning it to the dealer, or sell it (through an FFL) to someone else. If the legislature wanted the 30 days to be between pick ups they could have easily said so, by saying 30 days between transfer, possession, receipt, pick up or whatever, but they didn't - the statute says purchase. Its an individual choice, but I am not willing to concede further restrictions that don't even appear in the plainly worded law.

The lines definitely became more blurred since the beginning of 2013. In the past I left a deposit and then paid in full when I picked it up. Even in April of this year I paid 50% (previously it had been 20% or less) and the rest when I picked it up. More recently, when shops went back to releasing on the 8th day, they wanted the full amount up front. That is what raises the question as to when the purchase occurs.

Gryphon said:

Pick a Camp

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Very good answer. Helped a lot. Thank you.

Being pretty-dam' law-abiding, I'm just afraid some MSP official will compare my two 77R's, and notice a disconnect. Why did I assume one way on one form, and the other way on the other form?

Me saying "that's the way the two different FFLs told me to do it" probably wouldn't hold much legal water.

Kind of like how you treat mutual fund withdrawals on your taxes. Doesn't matter if you assume FIFO, or LIFO, or what... as long as you're consistent over time.

On the other hand, I'm probably over-thinking this. The MSP has better things to do than to compare how my successive 77R's are filled out.

Don't they?

The purpose is to disclose the prior date so as to identify the end of the next 30 day period, if applicable. Of course, the "if applicable" is the problem everyone struggles with. IMO, if you are not "picking up" within 30 days I don't think it would ever become a problem. In essence, you have adopted the more conservative approach regardless of what you put on the paper work in good faith, and with the assistance of the dealer who insists on one interpretation (even if its wrong to be more conservative) over the other. The bottom line is that you had no intent to break the law by purchasing, or picking up, more than one regulated firearm within the same 30 day period. Relax.

Bob Lee $wagger said:

Become a designated collector. Buy all you want.

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OP, don't be an idiot like me and agonize over pickup periods and times and then realize that it's pretty easy to get this thing and smack yourself for being dumb. Keep your handprint off your head. Do it. IT'S FREE*



*Except for the stamp ($0.47), your time (20 minutes at most), and the notarization (which you can also get for free at your bank, most likely).