Laws Regards Handguns in your country

S

Sparkypiper

Inactive
Hi all!

Im from New Zealand , and over here to obtain and use a handgun ( except air operated or spring operated ) you cant own on posses a handgun unless you have the correct licence. That being B cat.

To get B cat....you MUST be an active member of a pistol club for at least 12 months and shoot regulary to apply for a B cat , they do a ****load of checks and you have to have a 6mm steel cabinet to keep them , BOLTED to at least two surfaces.

You can't just buy one like you can in america??? The only things you can own here is A cat weopns that being SPORTING type rifles and shotguns.

you cant even own Military style semi autos without a E cat licence , and thats just as much a mind field.

What are the laws where YOU are regarding such weponds? do you need a licence in America?

Also if i move to america , what would entitle me to own and posses a handgun?


Fines over here for being caught with such "restriced wepons" , could result in jail time , and you most certainly neaver obain a licence if you are ever caught with such wepons.

Just a thorght guys

Craig
 
Laws vary from state to state somewhat. Here in Pennsylvania, assuming you become a resident alien, you could buy a pistol or military style rifle ( semi-auto version) without a license. you would have a few more hoops to jump through than a citizen. As a citizen I'm processed via an "instant check" system. It takes about 5 min. To carry a pistol concealed requires a separate check and and license.
 
Greetings from South Florida.

Here in south Florida, and Florida in general they are very restrictive...lol (not).
Actually the State of Florida is very as they say... gun friendly. A legal alien may obtain a permit to carry a firearm on their person. A legal alien may purchase a firearm over the counter. Although as a legal alien you will be asked to provide documentation of your permenancy of residence. (Utility bills, rental lease etc.)

Legal aliens just have to follow the same rules as anyone else. Carry permit allows you to carry a firearm almost anywhere with very few exceptions (schools, pubs, Etc.)

To purchase a firearm all you need is money, and proof of florida residence. You buy the gun, wait a 3 day cooling off period, pass a quick background check done over the phone. Then take your gun home with you. If you have a carry permit the 3 day wait is waived. Pretty much the hardest part is deciding what you want.

Contrary to what the media genious's, and mayor bloomberg say... Florida has not become a rootin tootin rip roaring shootem up horror show... but just a southern American state... where people are very polite to each other.
 
Greeting and welcome to TFL.

My wife moved to the USA and was able to purchase a handgun once she had her Permanent Residence Card (Green Card). (Trying to find a dealer that was willing to work with her while she had her green card was a little hard, but they are available.)

Now that she is a US Citizen, she just has to go into a store, find what she likes, fill out a simple one page form and wait for the store clerk to make a phone call.

Each state has different rules for carrying a weapon concealed. Here in Missouri, she will be required to take a class (8 Hours), get the county sheriff to sign off on it and she can carry concealed. (There is about a week and a half wait time for the paperwork to be completed for concealed carry.)

The only guns that I am aware that require special paperwork would be the fully automatic ones or ones to which you wish to affix a silencer.

If you make it to Missouri, get in touch with us, we'll take you shooting.
 
I know a Kiwi who moved here because of our gun laws. Last I saw he was driving from Loomis Armored, years ago.
Arizona has excellent laws. Resident aliens can purchase, last time I checked, so as long as you follow those rules,(I haven't checked, so I don't know what they are nowadays), there's not much else to worry about, no license, no permits, no waiting periods, no banned firearms/ammo/magazines, etc., here in Arizona. Walk in, pick it out, fill out the paperwork, phoned in background check, (5 minutes), grab holster/ammo same time, pay the counter person when you come back "Proceed", load up outdoors and holster up. Oh yeah, Constitutional Carry state, no permit required to carry openly or concealed for those who aren't prohibited posessors by fed law.
 
Welcome from Arkansas, Sparkypiper!

As has been noted, laws vary from state to state, at least as far as US citizens are concerned. I'm not sure what Arkansas or federal law say about resident aliens, as I've never had to look that up.

For US citizens and Arkansas residents, as with all other states, purchases of new handguns, or anything from an FFL is governed by federal law: (1) 21 years old to buy a handgun, 18 for long guns; (2) NICS check by the FFL. In Arkansas, some stores have a short waiting period, but that's store policy, not the law. Even if the store has a waiting period, that's usually waived if you have a Concealed Handgun Carry License. Walk in, fill out the paperwork, write out the check while the clerk calls it in, walk out with 1 less check and 1 more pistol.

If you're buying from a private party in Arkansas, no paperwork is needed. A buyer of a pistol must be eighteen or older. If the seller has either: (a) a reasonable basis to think that the buyer is a prohibited person (convicted felon, adjudicated mentally unfit, etc); or (b) a reasonable basis to think that the buyer is not a resident of Arkansas, then the sale cannot legally occur. Otherwise, the buyer hands over the money, the seller hands over the gun, and both go on their merry ways. We have neither licensing nor registration for either handguns or long guns.

On CHCL, an Arkansas resident takes an 8-hr class, qualifies at the range (must hit 16 out of 20 shots at 7 yards), gets fingerprinted, and cuts a check. The State Police do a background check, and (assuming the background check is passed) mail the CHCL to the applicant. The whole process takes about a month.
 
(2) NICS check by the FFL.
Click to expand...

Not necessary in Nebraska if you have a Firearms Purchase Certificate (these used to say "Handgun Purchase Cerificate") or a Concealed Handgun Permit ...

...though neither of these would apply to you, as you are not a legal resident of the state ..... though you could become one, I imagine ...... not sure how you'd go about that....
 
I think people tend to forget (some Americans in Washington DC seem to forget this especially), that America is a republic. There are 50 different states that form the republic, and each state has authority to make their own laws on everything from Aiding & Abetting to Murder. Environmental laws, - just about everything. The country is a patchwork of overlapping and sometimes conflicting laws.

The city of Chicago passed a law making it illegal to serve goose liver pate (foi gras)

The state of California enacted a law that banned Oreo cookie fillings. There is an effort underway there now to make it illegal for parents to circumcise their kids.

The gun laws can get just as crazy. Different states have different laws regarding things like waiting periods, number of firearms that can be purchased in given time period, restrictions on what capacity magazine can be used in weapons. Maybe the biggest and most important differences are the laws concerning carrying a weapon.

I live in the state of Illinois. In Illinois you are not allowed to carry a weapon on your person. You cannot be “armed”. It’s the only state in the republic that forbids the carrying of a firearm on your person.

Since the right to keep and bear arms is a constitutional amendment – there really should not be that much disparity over the issue. There is considerable uniformity in how First and Fourth Amendment rights are treated across the states. Maybe Illinois is different than the other states in that regard – a Landmark case came out of Illinois involving drug sniffing dogs. At issue was whether having a drug sniffing dog alert to the presence of drugs on a traffic stp constituted unreasonable search (and seizure). Pro 4th Amendment Activists (the ACLU) argued it was, Lisa Madigan – Attorney General for State of Illinois Madigan for State of Illinois argued that a drug dog that sounds the alarm that drugs are present – constitutes probable cause and gives the police the right to search a vehicle. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with Madigan.


In general though – other amendments rights are now pretty much uniformly protected across the U.S. You don’t see a state sending the National Guard in to shut down a newspaper. You don’t see the state police in one state do house-by-house searches of entire subdivisions just to look for anything they might find. The 2nd Amendment is different though. Things are radically different from state to state. Things are getting better though. The exact constitutional meaning and it’s precise application is being defined in the courts and we are moving toward more uniformity. Outright bans in Washington and Chicago have been overturned. Other cases winding their way through the courts are determining issues of what it means to “bear” arms – the question of carrying them on your person. Other laws are challenging the restrictions that some states have enacted on specific types of ammunition, magazines etc…

There will be greater uniformity in the next few years as the ability for government (at any level) to infringe American’s 2nd Amendment rights is increasingly being limited by proper interpretation of the 2nd Amendment.
 
It’s the only state in the republic that forbids the carrying of a firearm on your person.
Click to expand...

Not to burst your bubble but you can't carry in NJ either. Theoretically you could, but you'd need a miracle to get the proper license.
 
In what may be an ironic twist, it may be those areas of the country where the gun laws are the strictist where the 2nd Amendment will be interpreted by S.C.O.T.U.S. to grant the citizens the greatest freedoms at the highest level.

Right now the freedoms that are enjoyed by Florida gun owners accrue to them by authority of the state. Thank goodness the Federal government hasn't stepped into that situation to try to over-ride state law with some federal form of gun control. But the situation in Florida could theoretically go the other way - if enough of the populace were to change their views on gun ownership.

Moore v. Madigan - a case spawned in Illinois, may affect the rights of all American citizens to bear arms - in New Jersey, in California, in every city in every state in the U.S.

States Rights is a powerful argument - but has never been interpreted as strongly as the 1st or 4th amendment.

In some ways the case of the U.S. versus State of Arizona over their immigration laws is a case of States Rights and my general feeling is that the scope of state's rights has continually been eroded over time.

There is nothing to prevent a state from granting citizens rights and freedoms for gun ownership and possesion above what the Supreme Court has specified - some may say that has happened already in states like Florida. But it is a good thing to have the court expand those rights - because then no government agency can ever limit our rights beyond what the Supreme Court has set forth.

In Chicago and Washington D.C. there were some pretty significant interpretation of the 2nd Amendment that caused both of those cities to lift their outright ban.

What a smackdown!

And also - each case lays the stepping stone for the next.

If Illinois had laws like NJ - it would have strengthend the state's case that they're not denying the citizens of Illinois the right to bear arms, they are just providing prudent regulation over circumstances and situations gun owners exercies those rights. The fact that Illinois has an outright ban on carrying and there is no process or proceedure for getting a carry permit of any kind under any circumstance, weakens the state's case IMO.
 
Sounds to me all a bit relaxed. Y would one want to carry a firearm anyhow? i mean im a hardcore gun freak , and it would be cool at the start but the novility would soon wear off and it would just become a bugger having a firearm straped to myself.

I wonder what the gun crime is like over there? over here there is hadly any crime related to firearms , and virtually zero that involve handguns, but we are a pimple on the ass of the world!

In america , even tho you can CARRY or posses a firearm , what about laws in regards to discharge? illegal in built up areas? or is it perfectly legal to pop some tin cans in your back yard?

Id love to own a lugar. and a glock 17,9mm. Of couse i can but the laws over here are so strict , so harsh that its a mircale to be even alowed to own and store any kind of firearms.....i just got A cat , alowing me to own sporting rifles and shotguns. Over here any firearm shorter than 762mm in length is defined as a pistol.........so if i saw off my shotgun i would now be in possetion of a "restricted weopn" , and would face jail time.


Me thinks i might move to america :-)They may need electricians!!! sound like they can do pretty much anything and be legal........to bad if you **** off the dude down the road.....boom boom boom boom , and they gone..........was that another drive by????

In short if you love your firearms ( esp handguns ) DONT move to NZ , oh and be carefull not to fart either.......that will cost ya!

Craig.
 
Sounds to me all a bit relaxed.
Click to expand...

We like it that way.

Y would one want to carry a firearm anyhow? i mean im a hardcore gun freak , and it would be cool at the start but the novility would soon wear off and it would just become a bugger having a firearm straped to myself.
Click to expand...

Self defense. It's not a novelty. If you don't want to do it then don't.

I wonder what the gun crime is like over there? over here there is hadly any crime related to firearms , and virtually zero that involve handguns, but we are a pimple on the ass of the world!
Click to expand...

Probably because guns aren't as wide spread as they are here in America

In america , even tho you can CARRY or posses a firearm , what about laws in regards to discharge? illegal in built up areas? or is it perfectly legal to pop some tin cans in your back yard?
Click to expand...

Many people have shooting ranges on their own property. Usually those areas are more rural rather than urban.

Id love to own a lugar. and a glock 17,9mm. Of couse i can but the laws over here are so strict , so harsh that its a mircale to be even alowed to own and store any kind of firearms.....i just got A cat , alowing me to own sporting rifles and shotguns. Over here any firearm shorter than 762mm in length is defined as a pistol.........so if i saw off my shotgun i would now be in possetion of a "restricted weopn" , and would face jail time.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you might like it here.


Me thinks i might move to america :-)They may need electricians!!! sound like they can do pretty much anything and be legal........to bad if you **** off the dude down the road.....boom boom boom boom , and they gone..........was that another drive by????
Click to expand...

Uh no. That's murder and that's still illegal. If your scenario sounds acceptable please stay where you are.

In short if you love your firearms ( esp handguns ) DONT move to NZ , ...
Click to expand...

Not planning on it.
 
Why would one need to carry a firearm? Because we can. :) I usually carry when I am at the farm. Last night, after feeding the cows, I shot a copperhead snake. Hate those things and I have seen pictures of cattle that have stepped on them and been bitten by one.

I have a shooting range in my back yard. I sit on my back deck and can shoot until I am out of ammo and no one says anything.

The crime rate is not as bad as you would expect. In another post there is a link to an article that states 15 million background checks were conducted for gun owners last year. You hear about a killing on the news, maybe once a week, that was committed by someone using a gun. You hear on the news almost every night someone dying because of a car accident or knife fight.
Our crime rate is not horrendous by any means and some people believe it has actually fallen BECAUSE of our gun laws.
 
Crime rates are overblown by media, both news and entertainment.
The laws are good, but they are there, so you do have to follow them. For good examples, here is AZ Title 13, Criminal Code, scroll down to Section 31, Firearms. That covers most of it, with some justification statutes buried elsewhere in Title 13. The guns in bars is in the liquor law section, too.

http://www.azleg.gov/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp?Title=13
 
Y would one want to carry a firearm anyhow? i mean im a hardcore gun freak , and it would be cool at the start but the novility would soon wear off and it would just become a bugger having a firearm straped to myself.
Click to expand...

That's actually a good question and it doesn't have a really easy answer. The reason for that is because the US isn't one homogeneous society. There are communities here that are very European in nature in that they have a relatively patriarchal government that insists upon rather tight control over citizens' behavior (by the way, no knock on Europeans!), but there are also many communities that are, for a lack of a better term, very American, in that the government is essentially a provider of basic services and the citizens essentially govern themselves. That's because, even though we have a Federal government, most of the immediate governmental effects on us are local in nature.

Now, that's a pretty big oversimplification of how things work over here, but if you bear with it, the question about carrying a firearm seems to generally work like this: in communities with a very strong, patriarchal government, the people tend to rely on the protective services of law enforcement, such as they are. Thus, the police carry the guns and are at the people's disposal when there is trouble.

In the other case, the people treat the police less as a protective force and more as an enforcement and investigative organization. In that case, the people rely on themselves as their first line of defense if there is trouble. That's the situation described by the adage "if you're in a life or death situation, remember, the police are just minutes away."

There's also the case that people from one community mix with people of the other. And even that still oversimplifies things. Maybe it just boils down to a tradition (for many) of being able to take care of oneself. I know that when I carry a handgun, it's for the same reason that I have a fire extinguisher in the car and in the kitchen: I hope that I never have to use it, but if I need it and I don't have it, the result would be awfully messy. For me, I'd be a happy camper if I went through life and never had the need to draw my gun. And, to be honest, just like the fire extinguisher, my expectation is that I'll never need to use it.

Anyway, that's what I think. Of course, it's pretty dusty and disorganized in my brain, so I could be completely out to lunch.
 
Just a thorght guys
Click to expand...

Well my first thought is "Sucks to live anywhere else" my second thought is "sure is nice to be free" :) enough to be able to protect myself from bad folks wish to do me harm. BTW the bad guys have guns so why would anyone want to go about unarmed? only to meet up with a bad person has a gun?

Well you do have nice mountains there.......
 
jimbob86 said:
Spats McGee said:
(2) NICS check by the FFL.
Click to expand...
Not necessary in Nebraska if you have a Firearms Purchase Certificate (these used to say "Handgun Purchase Cerificate") or a Concealed Handgun Permit ...
Click to expand...
Which tells me that a NICS check is probably done when you get your Firearms Purchase Certificate. I don't have to have one of those in Arkansas.

jimbob86 said:
...though neither of these would apply to you, as you are not a legal resident of the state ..... though you could become one, I imagine ...... not sure how you'd go about that....
Click to expand...
By moving to Nebraska. Once there, I'd have to change my driver's license over, register my vehicle, etc. That ought to do the trick.

Sparkypiper said:
Y would one want to carry a firearm anyhow?
Click to expand...
In no particular order:
1) Because I have a right to do so.
2) Because bad guys carry weapons.
3) Because bad guys, who carry weapons, don't make appointments.
4) Because I have a wife and a daughter.
5) Because I have a job that makes people angry.
6) Because there are crazy people in the world.
7) Because the police may be far away when I really need them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top