Can I buy a handgun with temporary PA driver license?

[piste]

Greetings,
I'm "new in town" to Western PA.....more on that later...and apparently there is a "new" system in place for getting a driver license. The way it works is you get a temp license that's good for 15 days until your permanent one comes in the mail. Just got my temp one today...and coming from one of our western states with oppressive gun laws I'm anxious to knock one off the top of my wish list and pick up a P2AT...AND take it home with me on the spot. So the question is...can I buy a handgun with this temp license? Penn DOT says pretty much it is the same as my perm one.

Thanks!

BTW..the reason for this "new" system...for those that might care...is that they will take my photo and use some new fangled technology to ensure it does not match an existing photo on file...sort of an identity screening sort of thing.

[Hokkmike]

Originally Posted by piste

Penn DOT says pretty much it is the same as my perm one.

That should pretty much answer your question. Or, wait 15 days instead.

[Pa. Patriot]

Legally, yes.

BUT

That said, some dealers will not take it, period. Some will no problem and yet others will require a second form of ID.



PS: WELCOME to PA and PAFOA!

[piste]

Originally Posted by Hokkmike

That should pretty much answer your question. Or, wait 15 days instead.

Yes and no...it's just not that clear. To further clarify...what Penn DOT specifically "says" on the matter..in writing on a paper I got this morning...."The temporary credential is a valid form of identification and can be used by any business to validate name, age, address, etc. just as a permanent driver's license/photo ID card." The role of a PA drivers license in purchasing a handgun I would think goes beyond just validating name, etc....So I guess that leaves the "etc" part......but explaining "etc" to the dealer could get tricky.

For me....what a department of motor vehicles says/knows and what happens as a practical matter in the real world are not always the same...I think it'll be a roll of the dice along the lines of PA Patriot's post. Thanks again.

[Zef_66]

I would tend to agree with PA Patriot. And I believe in another thread (maybe the Harrisburg gun show one), a FFL said they can do it with a temp license. Might want to search on it.

But the license is just used to verify information of the person standing in front of you. All the checks come from the PICS phone call. The license is just to make sure the information given over the phone is for the person standing in front of you.

Should work. If not, take your business elsewhere.

[jdlv4_0]

I don't know about the temp ID, but how long have you been a PA resident?

Now don't quote me on this, as I can't find any laws to back this up, but I was under the impression that you had to be a resident for 30 or 60 days before you could buy a hand gun in PA.

The only reason I state this is when I was doing a transfer up at Kings in KOP, the ID of the person buying my handgun was not yet 30 or 60 days old (this was over a year ago, I don't remember which) and they asked if he was a new resident or if it was a reissued liscense, it was a reissue so there was no issue.

For the life of me I can't find any documentation on this on either the PSP website, or the PACode website...

[mrwildroot]

Originally Posted by piste

Greetings,
I'm anxious to knock one off the top of my wish list and pick up a P2AT...

piste,
You do mean Kel tec P3AT, right?
;-)
mrwildroot

[djturnz]

Nope



Keltec P2AT

[piste]

Well I meant the P3AT....I know it as that and that's what the brain meant to type but I guess the fat fingers had other ideas. And it'll be the parkerized one while we're at it!!

IS there a P2AT??

As for the issue of duration of residency....I'm not sure what the basis of residency is...nor what the law is...what I DO know ...I've been working here about 40 days...moved into my house about 20 days....Dealer I went to this week said...produce a PA driver license...pass the NICS check...pay the cash....walk out with your early Xmas present!! But again...there are far more people on both sides of the counter who are not as knowledgeable as they should be on the laws...but with some of the laws...particularly in my former state...who could blame them!!

[Holleta]

I was in the same situation when I let my DL lapse. My FFL accepted the Temp DL (I asked him about it first) and said it was a legal ID so all was well. However, according to him (I have no reason to doubt him), buying a firearm from an FFL is not a guranteed right and the ATF gives FFL's the right to deny selling to someone if they have reasonable doubt to the legality of the situation.

Hope that helps and welcome to PFOA!