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Can a Resident Alien Purchase Guns?
- Thread starter madmag
- Start date
I believe the current form asks if you are a Non-Resident alien
Yes, they said resident alien...so it appears he may have been legal to purchase, depending on state law.
hoghunting
New member
According to BATFE as a resident alien, he could legally purchase a firearm and would also not be violating Virginia law.
Well, if the "common sense" tightening of regulations takes place (as after the first WTC bombings and OK fed building it became harder to rent trucks and buy large quantities of fertilizer) there is a single question:
Q: What law/restriction could be possibly be imposed that would stop such an event from occurring again?
A: Well, none. Not registration, not further limiting ownership, not harsher sentences, nothing at all can be done. When someone snaps, they will have a gun in their hand, be behind the wheel of a garbage truck, poison the water supply, or make homemade bow and arrows.
The tool is irrelevant. It is the snapping that is the motivating factor.
What difference does it make whether the firearms used illegally were obtained illegally?
Q: What law/restriction could be possibly be imposed that would stop such an event from occurring again?
A: Well, none. Not registration, not further limiting ownership, not harsher sentences, nothing at all can be done. When someone snaps, they will have a gun in their hand, be behind the wheel of a garbage truck, poison the water supply, or make homemade bow and arrows.
The tool is irrelevant. It is the snapping that is the motivating factor.
What difference does it make whether the firearms used illegally were obtained illegally?
FAL-schutter
New member
I'll repeat the answer I gave in another thread, though IANAL etc. (but I am a resident alien).
Federal law prohibits possession of firearms by a foreign national who is in the United States on a non-immigrant visa. Foreign nationals who are engaging in acquiring, or have acquired, permanent resident status are considered part of "the people" as far as the feds are concerned.
After that, it depends on state law. At one extreme of the spectrum is New York, which forbids non-US citizens from possessing "any dangerous or deadly weapon," period. Washington state forbids non-US citizens from so much as touching a gun unless they acquire a state Alien Firearms License*; once you have such a license, though, you're not subject to any restrictions that US citizens aren't. And some states, including Oregon and Virginia (as far as I can make out) place no special restrictions on resident aliens at all (in addition to the federal regulations, that is).
* - The Alien Firearms License is, frankly, rather pointless. To get one, you have to get a letter from the consulate of your country of origin stating that you have no criminal record in that country. But if you had a criminal record back in the old country, you'd still be there, because that would have disqualified you from immigrating to the US. You could still come to the US on a non-immigrant visa, of course, but as stated previously, federal law prohibits non-immigrant foreign nationals from possessing firearms already.
Federal law prohibits possession of firearms by a foreign national who is in the United States on a non-immigrant visa. Foreign nationals who are engaging in acquiring, or have acquired, permanent resident status are considered part of "the people" as far as the feds are concerned.
After that, it depends on state law. At one extreme of the spectrum is New York, which forbids non-US citizens from possessing "any dangerous or deadly weapon," period. Washington state forbids non-US citizens from so much as touching a gun unless they acquire a state Alien Firearms License*; once you have such a license, though, you're not subject to any restrictions that US citizens aren't. And some states, including Oregon and Virginia (as far as I can make out) place no special restrictions on resident aliens at all (in addition to the federal regulations, that is).
* - The Alien Firearms License is, frankly, rather pointless. To get one, you have to get a letter from the consulate of your country of origin stating that you have no criminal record in that country. But if you had a criminal record back in the old country, you'd still be there, because that would have disqualified you from immigrating to the US. You could still come to the US on a non-immigrant visa, of course, but as stated previously, federal law prohibits non-immigrant foreign nationals from possessing firearms already.
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Just for the record, a non U. S. citizen who is lawfully in this country to attend school is NOT a resident. They are a non-immigrant alien.
And, among other things, to remain in the U. S. as a non-immigrant student, one must maintain a certain grade point average and comply with all laws. Like not kill people.
And, among other things, to remain in the U. S. as a non-immigrant student, one must maintain a certain grade point average and comply with all laws. Like not kill people.
FAL-schutter
New member
Correct; it should be noted that student visas, such as the F-1 and M-1, and worker visas, such as the E hand H series (of which the H-1B is the best known), are all non-immigrant visas. They grant temporary residence, usually for two or three years at a time.
Note, though, that the Virginia Tech shooter was not in the US on a student visa, even though he was a student; he'd been a permanent resident for 14 years. Similar story with me, actually; I'm attending college here, but it's not the main reason I came to the US (I came here to be with my wife), and I intend to stay after I graduate (though I've actually applied for US citizenship; may as well do it right, I say).
Note, though, that the Virginia Tech shooter was not in the US on a student visa, even though he was a student; he'd been a permanent resident for 14 years. Similar story with me, actually; I'm attending college here, but it's not the main reason I came to the US (I came here to be with my wife), and I intend to stay after I graduate (though I've actually applied for US citizenship; may as well do it right, I say).