State Gun Laws

F

Freedom_or_Death

Inactive
Hello everyone,

This is my first post here. I just joined a few days ago.

I don't own any guns yet, because my state (NJ) has very strict gun laws, and I cant buy guns or get a NJ FPIC until I turn 18. I'm 17 now.

But I'm preparing for when I turn 18 and am able to get a FID and buy guns.

I was wondering, does anyone know if you get a license to possess guns (but not carry) in one state does this make it legal to possess them in all states?

What are the laws regulating the interstate possession of guns?

In other words, though I live in NJ, if I went to college in another state, would I legally be able to keep my guns (I guess they would be longarms, getting a pistol in NJ would be pretty hard as I'm under 21) in another state like Pennsylvania, with an NJ FID?
 
Asking questions is the best way you can start. You have alot to learn. Like all things related to firearms, have your brain turned on.

New Jersey, along with some other states, are an aberation with respect to gun law compared to many other states.

I do not know NJ law, but can give you a clue about Colorado:
  1. there is no such thing as an FID in CO. All you need is a driver's license.
  2. there is no firearm registration in CO.
  3. there are no waiting periods for handguns or longarms in CO.

By federal law, you can buy a long gun at 18 and a handgun at 21. CO abides by this. New Jersey may not.

Now to buy a handgun, you have to be in your state of residence. For a long gun, you must be in your state or a contiguous state. These, and the age restrictions, came in by way of the Gun Control Act of 1968. How NJ or a dealer in PA would feel about this is unknown. Ask.

Before you buy your first gun, I suggest you get some NRA education. Independent of how you feel about their politics, the education is first rate.
 
I agree with GLN in that "Asking questions is the best way you can start." You're already off to a good start! :)

Where are you thinking about for college? You'll find that most states are less restrictive about firearms than New Jersey. Few require registration as strict as FIDs. Do a little research at www.packing.org on state firearm laws.

I second the suggestion for getting some training. I've benefitted greatly from every training experience. You can never be too safe or have too much training.

Good luck! :)

-Dave
 
My best advice>>> Move west (at least to PA) and outside of the Philie area. As was said, NJ is not typical of most other states. The more strict states are NJ, MD, NY, MA, and CA. NY isn't bad if you live outside to the NY metro area, but that may change with Hillary & Schumer as Senators.
 
Bluesman beat me to it with the link. One of the best sources of information on the net IMHO.

Welcome to the board first of all and please, ask any question that you can think of to become more educated in gun ownership.

There is allot of experience on the board that you can draw from.

Wayne
 
All depends on where you go to college, some state schools and universitys as well as some private schools are Gun Free Zones. some are not. Also for some it depends on where you live, private housing is not covered by school rules. Some schools have wild rules some really cool rules. just have to find out. if it matters that much to you then use those rules to help you identify which schools you attend. and let those schools you reallly want to attend know why you are not choosing them.

A short simple letter saying I am X I wanted to attend your school, however your schools policy toward legal firearms has caused me to attend elsewhere.

A lot of states let you use the school ID as proof of residency if you chose to do so. Minn and Wisc both used to accept in-state School ID;s as adequate for residents hunting licenses. Could not buy a gun on that, but it was ok for hunting licenses. They understood that many students keep daddys address on the DL to qualify for student car insurance rates.

Look around, some parts of "Joisee" are not too bad, but there are a lot better states to live in both business wise and gun wise.
 
GT Fool,

Not quite so on school policies being the "law". Here in Eugene (Oregon really) the universities will tell prospective students that they can't have guns on campus. They are wrong. If you have an Oregon CHL then they cannot bar you from doing so (they are trying to change the law).

So the person is better checking and reading the state law about the subject.

Wayne
 
I can help some, but you really need to figure out where you are going before you can know what can and cannot come with you.

I live in Michigan, that is what this following information is for.

I can keep my guns at college (Michigan Tech, not a bad school if you are looking for engineering/sciences/technology. LOTS of gun stuff around). We have a weapons room in the basement, that when not in use, that is where they are kept. Guns are NOT allowed in dorm rooms, but 'Don't ask, don't tell' is pretty much the policy. No one is nosy.

If you wanted to bring a long gun into Michigan, I see no problem. There is no card required for long guns. Many of my out of state friends brought thier weapons to school.

I don't know how a handgun would work in Michigan. I got three, and take them to college, and I am 19. However, MI requires a safety card for handguns. I do not know how it would work if you wanted to bring one into the state while attending college. I would assume taht you would have to get a card if you were instate, but I am not positive on that.

One laast note, do yourself a favor and get a .22 as a starter rifle.
 
Hi everybody,

Thanks for your help.

The Bluesman,
The schools I plan to apply to are mostly in Pennsylvania and NY (my parents want me to apply to the NY schools) and maybe the University of Virginia as well.

22-rimfire, I do plan to move out west, as soon as I graduate from college and can support myself.

GLN Admin, about NJ gun laws, from what I know, to buy longarms a person must be 18, and 21 for handguns as per the 68 GCA that you mentioned.

This applies to transfers also. It's almost impossible for someone under 18 to possess a longarm or under 21 to possess a handgun in New Jersey.

Even inheritance has very strict rules, or so I've heard. Apparently, if someone under 21 inherits a handgun, they must move it out of the state or give it away or sell it or otherwise dispose of it within a certain time period, or risk being charged with possession of an illegal weapon.

To buy longarms, one must have a NJ FID/FPIC card, from what I understand. But there's no limit to the amount of longarms one can buy once you have the FID.

GLN Admin, do you mean that in CO you dont need a permit or anything to buy longarms? Just a drivers license?

In NJ as far as I know there is no waiting period for longarms. I dont know about handguns though.

But in NJ, you need a permit even for a muzzle-loading black powder handgun.

Its rediculous, I know. :(

In NJ longarms dont have to be registered, but the seller must keep a record of the sale on file or something to that effect.

Anyway, thanks for the tip about getting training from the NRA. I'll look into that.

I'm also thinking about joining the NRA and maybe GOA too. Should I do that now or wait?

Guntotin fool, I'll look into the school gun rules, too. Though most likely in NY and NJ, guns on college campuses are probably strictly off limits. But I'll check anyway.
 
USP45usp, thanks for the welcome :)

I'll research the laws like you suggested.

TheBluesman, I visited packing.org too. From what I can see, the gun laws in NJ are much stricter than in a lot of other states, like you all said.
 
Hi, jefnvk

Thanks for your help. About the college I'll be going to, I dont really know yet because its the end of my junior year in High School now, and I'm going to send out my applications in the beginning of senior year.

But I'm going to try and find out about the firearms possession rules for the schools I plan on attending.

Re Michigan Tech, I'm not very good at science and math and that type of stuff those are my hardest subjects in High School. :( So I probably wouldnt do that well at a college that focuses on stuff like that :(

BTW, just curious, how'd you get handguns? I thought to buy them you had to be 21.

Re: the .22 rifle..a lot of people have given me the same advice. If I can afford it, when I'm 18 and my FID is approved, I'll get the .22 in addition to something else, and a shotgun too.

My reasoning is that I've been following the developments in Nj with regard to gun laws, and its not looking good.

The NJ Code already has 19 specific guns that are banned, and now has a law requiring that in the near future, all guns (or maybe its all handguns) have smart technology.

I'll probably still have my legal residence in NJ for the next few years (until I graduate from college) and I want to make sure I have some of the guns I want in case NJ suddenly passes some wacky anti-gun laws, which is a very real possibility here, considering that most of NJ's elected representatives are Democrats or liberal Republicans.

I dont know if I'll be able to claim residency in the state I go to college. Are you a Michigan resident?

In addition to the .22 rifle I was thinking of maybe a Bushmaster XM-15 (the Colt AR-15 is illegal in NJ, but AR-15 type guns that arent named the "AR-15" are generally legal) or Springfield M-1A, which someone recommended to me.

And for my first shotgun, I had the Mossberg Persuader 500 in mind.
 
F or D

BTW, just curious, how'd you get handguns? I thought to buy them you had to be 21.
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To buy from an FFL (gunstore, pawnshop) but not a private party. Your parents can buy them for you as a gift or you can inherit them.

I will never understand the federal law about having to be 21 to buy a handgun from an FFL. As I'll never understand 18 to 20 year olds not voting to get their Rights restored to them.

Wayne
 
BTW, just curious, how'd you get handguns? I thought to buy them you had to be 21.
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Yep, you can buy from a private party at 18 (assuming your state allows it), or recieve them as a gift (if your state allows it). MI didn't have any laws other than the federal regarding the subject, so I was good to go. NJ may or may not be the same way.

As for colleges, the further you go from populated areas, the more likely they are to allow it. Same goes (to some degree) for colleges with more of a math/science/tech/engineering type emphasis, over ones with social studies/language/arts type cirriculum.

None of the big colleges in the Lower Peninsula allowed weapons (that they told me). The ones that did were in the UP.

I will never understand the federal law about having to be 21 to buy a handgun from an FFL. As I'll never understand 18 to 20 year olds not voting to get their Rights restored to them.
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I do, but when no one is interested in getting 18-20 year olds their right to a handgun back, it is kinda hard.
 
Oh, so if you live in a state that allows it, you can buy or inherit a handgun if your under 18.

Ok, now I understand. :)

jefnvk, are you able to claim Michigan as your state of residence since you go to college there?

If I went to college in PA or another state, would I be able to claim it as my state of residence do you think?
 
"I do, but when no one is interested in getting 18-20 year olds their right to a handgun back, it is kinda hard."

Very true, unfortunately. I wouldnt even bother writing a letter to my senator or rep. They're both gun-grabbers. :mad:

It's amazing that 18 year olds are old enough to vote and join the army to fight for this country, but cannot buy a handgun.

I wonder if there's any legislation being proposed to repeal the GCA of 1968.
 
jefnvk, are you able to claim Michigan as your state of residence since you go to college there?
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I lived here before, so it doesn't really matter. I don;t know exactly how it works. For things like hunting and fishing licenses, you can be considered as a state of residence. Those sorts of things depend on teh state. I'd imagine for something like buying a firearm, it wouldn't count.

If you were to get a house and change you permenant address to that state, you'd be a resident.

From a federal standpoint, I guess I have no idea on what qualifies your state of residence.

Oh, so if you live in a state that allows it, you can buy or inherit a handgun if your under 18.
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Nope. If you are over 18. Under 18 = no-no anywhere. And you can buy from a private party, the transaction cannot go through an FFL. I don't know if NJ has it or not, but if private party sales have to go through a FFL, you are still out of luck.
 
jefnvk: That's pretty wild that your school will allow you to store weapons on Campus. Here in Texas that is an absolute no-go (kinda weird I think, being Texas and all................. :rolleyes: ). Their a little hazy about storing it in your car so I don't even bother. I ended up moving off campus after my first year, mostly so I could have my toys with me, instead of having to leave them back home.

Freedom_or_Death: If your going to store weapons in a college environment, make sure you lock them up. By this I mean make sure you have them in a locked container and the ammo locked up also. You don't want to be in the awkward position of testifying "Well you see Mr. Prosecutor, what happened wuz.........After I passed out in the floor, my roomates got my AR-15 and decided to play William Tell with beer cans and you see the scope shoots a little low and..................... :rolleyes: "
 
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