Alien Resident Gun Ownership in NH

If there was anyway to get your deposit money back,

I assume you did... then I would not buy anything from these folks and send your wife somewhere else.

I would confront these folks for a short period of time and point out how their requirements just don't meet any reasonable logic and are pretty much B.S.
 
Well... I finally got the rifle on Sunday. And when I say "I", I obviously mean "my wife". I would have gone elsewhere but I had a similar experience a few months previous at another local gun dealer so I figured the ATF paranoia was widespread. Also, I was given a great deal, a S&W M&P AR-15 5.56mm MOE for $825.

Anyway, it all worked out in the end and by Sunday evening I walked away from the range, 60 rounds lighter and much calmer... :cool:

Thanks to everyone for their helpful advice and comments.
 
Here's a thought in reference to the stupid straw purchase laws and spouses

How can my giving my wife money to go and buy me a gun (which I can legally own) and then her coming home and giving it to me be a straw purchase in most states? If community property laws apply then we both own the gun regardless of who bought it anyway and the money I gave her was 'half' hers in the first place.....
 
blume357 said:
How can my giving my wife money to go and buy me a gun (which I can legally own) and then her coming home and giving it to me be a straw purchase in most states?
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Change your question to be worded like this: "How can my giving my wife MY money to go and buy me a gun"

Now it is a straw purchase. The legality of the person who ends up with the gun to purchase or possess firearms has no bearing on whether a straw purchase occurs or not. If a person uses someone else's money to purchase a gun with the intention of giving that gun back to the person whose money it was purchased with - a straw purchase has occured. Straw purchase is a Federal law, not a matter of state laws.

Now, in my case, in the past I have used money from a joint checking account, which both my wife and I have access to, and purchased a handgun from an FFL and immediately gave her that gun (which she picked out), without performing a straw purchase, even though she was not able to buy that same handgun herself from the that FFL. Why?

1. The money was just as much mine as hers. Joint checking account, joint ability to use the money however we wanted to. I received no specific compensation from her for either the gun itself or for the act of purchasing it.

2. She was not prohibited from possessing the handgun. And that would have no bearing on straw purchasing anyway. IF she was prohibited - then I would be guilty of providing a firearm to a prohibited person - completely separate and apart from a straw purchase.

3. The reason she could not purchase the same gun from the FFL is because she had an out-of-state driver's license. I purchased the handgun using my active duty ID card and copy of my orders to that state.

This is almost exactly the same situation with the OP - provided that the wife used funds that she would have had access to anyway for other uses.
 
The FFL had no issue whatsoever with my wife "buying" the gun that I'd pre-ordered and I paid for with my credit card. Their only stipulation was that she had to be in possession of "her" rifle when we walked out of the store...

Go figure... :confused:
 
It is a straw purchase because you already tried to buy the firearm, did not have proper documentation of 90 consecutive days of residency and are now having someone buy the firearm for you. I take bank statements or utility bills but they have to be most recent and 90 consecutive days, otherwise its a no go. Don't assume they will do anything to sell 1 rifle, if they are a larger store they would sacrifice 1 sale to keep their FFL as it most likely keeps the rest of the store afloat. Its just the law, agree or not, and you have to play the game. Open a bank account, get a utility bill in your name, do whatever you have to do but do it as required by ATF form 4473. Sometimes the NICS associates are new and you may need to go to a manager, but as long as you have:
Drivers License or state issued non driver ID
Green card
Recent 90 days consecutive proof of residency
And are not a mentally defective felon then you should be good to go.

The ID and utility bills/bank statements should all have your current physical address also!!
 
do whatever you have to do but do it as required by ATF form 4473.
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He already did what was required by ATF form 4473. It's not his fault the store would not accept it.

Don't assume they will do anything to sell 1 rifle, if they are a larger store they would sacrifice 1 sale to keep their FFL
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The statement of yours above conflicts with the following statement of yours:

It is a straw purchase because you already tried to buy the firearm
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Which is it? It can only be one or the other. Note:
The FFL had no issue whatsoever with my wife "buying" the gun that I'd pre-ordered and I paid for with my credit card. Their only stipulation was that she had to be in possession of "her" rifle when we walked out of the store...
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And, BTW, it would not be a straw purchase if the wife was an authorized signer for the credit card that was used to buy the gun because she had full access to the credit card to use it in anyway she desired including buying the gift of a gun for her husband - or if she used any payment method that she could have used to pay for anything else with.
 
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The store did the right thing, even though their original requirements were,

not exactly right... but they are a business and do have the right to refuse to sell if they question the thing....

I don't care what the ATF, a gun store, or the internet lawyers here say.... you sending your wife to buy a gun you want is not a straw purchase as long as you can legally own the gun.....

that's my legal opinion and it's worth the paper it's written on....
 
Yeesh, long story short you got your gun enjoy it. Many people here have received guns from their wives as gifts.

The reason the store was such a pain is the ATF has no problem with taking a stores FFL. It isn't something they kid around with.
 
NJgunowner said:
Yeesh, long story short you got your gun enjoy it. Many people here have received guns from their wives as gifts.
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And sometimes bought with the money earned by the husband! :D
 
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