Lending a neighbor a firearm. Legal?

[Tokamak]

Ok, my neighbor had his rental property - right next door to him - broken into. They took some copper pipe and then hit the water main - causing a lot of water damage - then left.

There is still a lot of copper in the basement and I warned him that they could come back.

His revolver is in the shop. I lent him a S&W Model 19 .357.

He is in the process of getting his carry permit.

Is this legal?

[cgbudde]

Unless I am wrong, no you can not lend your handgun to another person unless they are a family member, son, mother, father etc.

[Guns4Fun]

No, it is not legal. Unless he is a family member like posted above or he has a LTCF. Since you said he is in the process - that means he doesn't have it yet. Time to get your gun back - quickly.

[mjfletcher]

IANAL and would recommend talking to one, but it would appear that as long as he doesn't take it from his home/place of business you can lend it to him. I would assume that his rental property constitutes a place of business.

§ 6115. Loans on, or lending or giving firearms prohibited.

(a) Offense defined.--No person shall make any loan secured
by mortgage, deposit or pledge of a firearm, nor, except as
provided in subsection (b), shall any person lend or give a
firearm to another or otherwise deliver a firearm contrary to
the provisions of this subchapter.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit the loaning or giving of a firearm to another in
one's dwelling or place of business if the firearm is
retained within the dwelling or place of business.

[anonymouse]

Originally Posted by mjfletcher

IANAL and would recommend talking to one, but it would appear that as long as he doesn't take it from his home/place of business you can lend it to him. I would assume that his rental property constitutes a place of business.

§ 6115. Loans on, or lending or giving firearms prohibited.

Does this include all firearms (longguns too) or just firearms as defined in § 6102?

[mjfletcher]

Originally Posted by anonymouse

Does this include all firearms (longguns too) or just firearms as defined in § 6102?

Not sure on that, so I would suggest consulting a lawyer before lending firearms of any kind, but I would assume it refers to firearms as defined in § 6102 only since you can transfer longguns without an FFL.

[WA3UFN]

If I read it properly, the Exception- (1) "Subsection (a) shall not apply if any of the following apply: (i) The person who receives the firearm is licensed to carry a firearm under section 6109 (relating to license)", would allow the use of a loaned firearm if the condition is met.

[GunLawyer001]

Originally Posted by Tokamak

Ok, my neighbor had his rental property - right next door to him - broken into. They took some copper pipe and then hit the water main - causing a lot of water damage - then left.

There is still a lot of copper in the basement and I warned him that they could come back.

His revolver is in the shop. I lent him a S&W Model 19 .357.

He is in the process of getting his carry permit.

Is this legal?

No. Lend him a rifle or shotgun instead. But be prepared to be sued if he uses it. Best bet, sell or give him a gun through an FFL, he can always transfer it back later.

Originally Posted by cgbudde

Unless I am wrong, no you can not lend your handgun to another person unless they are a family member, son, mother, father etc.

Watch out for that "etc". It is ONLY allowed between parent/child, spouse/spouse, or grandparent/grandchild. NOT SIBLINGS. No cousins. No other family members. If you transfer a firearm directly to your brother, you've violated the criminal statutes the same as if you sold it to a stranger at a yard sale.

Originally Posted by mjfletcher

IANAL and would recommend talking to one, but it would appear that as long as he doesn't take it from his home/place of business you can lend it to him. I would assume that his rental property constitutes a place of business.
. . .

I believe that statute applies to loans between people working at the same place of business, it doesn't allow you to lend a gun to someone for his use at HIS place of business. It's so that a bartender can have access to the gun under the counter, or security guards can use the company issue weapons while patrolling company property...stuff like that.

[tlgpa]

Originally Posted by GunLawyer001

Watch out for that "etc". It is ONLY allowed between parent/child, spouse/spouse, or grandparent/grandchild. NOT SIBLINGS. No cousins. No other family members. If you transfer a firearm directly to your brother, you've violated the criminal statutes the same as if you sold it to a stranger at a yard sale.

You could basically give it to your father, who could give it to your brother right?

[GunLawyer001]

Originally Posted by tlgpa

You could basically give it to your father, who could give it to your brother right?

Right, as long as dad and bro all agree that's what happened. A direct transfer is a crime, the police will tend to assume that if your brother has your pistol (which shows up in the "non-registry registry" as having been sold to you) that you gave it to him. You don't want to claim that dad gave him your gun unless dad remembers doing so.

Note that you can lend it to your brother (or any other PA resident) if he has a current PA LTCF.