buying a firearm in PA

[1911Operator]

Using punctuation you posted this as a stand alone statement:


You are the one who made the statement that no DL is required, I was just asking if that's really what you meant.
Because a FFL not requiring a DL as you stated is breaking the law.

So now you're saying an out of state license, not no DL as you previously stated?
Because that makes sense, but No DL doesn't.

My bad, out of state license will suffice.

[Xringshooter]

You need a PA DL to get a handgun from an FFL to establish your residence. You may be able to get a PA Nonresident ltc but that of course will not help you. When you have two residences the dealer is not going to care about anything other than you having a DL to show proof. No matter what residency you may want to declare, your PA ID or DL is what they will want to see for proof if you declare PA as your residence/

This is just plain WRONG, please read my posts. I am a FFL and have done this many times. There are specific things a FFL has to do to complete the transaction (dual state resident) but requiring a PA DL or ID is not one of them.

[LTCcarrier]

I have several vacation homes. If I go to an FFL in the state of my vacation home and state that I am a resident during vacation they are not going to sell me a handgun. Did the poster from NY pay any PA tax during the time. If you would sell to this man then your are different for all practical purposes from the other PA FFL dealers that would not put themselves at risk.

[normanvin]

This is just plain WRONG, please read my posts. I am a FFL and have done this many times. There are specific things a FFL has to do to complete the transaction (dual state resident) but requiring a PA DL or ID is not one of them.

Could you elaborate on what these things are?

[Walleye Hunter]

This is just plain WRONG, please read my posts. I am a FFL and have done this many times. There are specific things a FFL has to do to complete the transaction (dual state resident) but requiring a PA DL or ID is not one of them.

There are many places and many times where people just are not familiar with the details of the laws that affect them and it sounds like this is one of them. In a case like this many people will err to the side of safety and just say that it can't be done rather than toil themselves with finding out or risk their own license and/or livelihood over one instance. In my years of driving trucks in the US there have been a few times where even the law man didn't know the law when I was trying to find out if something was legal or not.

[fallenleader]

i hope you don't plan on leaving guns unattended in a vacation home. vacation homes are prime targets for theft in my area, second to foreclosures.
walking around in the safe city one day, you might just find that the guy mugging you has a ~very~ familiar piece.

if i recall, some of the local ranges will discount or include some rental terms with their membership.
maybe, move out of the city to NY state where you might be able to buy local and possess a firearm, while remaining close enough for commute.
or do like most of my neighbors, transplant then martz bus into the city every morning.

Changing your drivers license usually winds up being more than simply changing your license. somehow something else always winds up having to change.

[Xringshooter]

Could you elaborate on what these things are?

If a person owns a home in two different states (PA being one of them), and pays PA real estate taxes (and the other taxes associated with home ownership), when the person is occupying the house in PA, he is considered a PA resident, even if his main domicile (where he has his drivers license) is a different state and as such is allowed to purchase firearms while they are "living" in PA.

For example,

I have a regular customer whose main residence is in FL. He also owns a home and property here in central PA where he lives regularly (FL in the winter, a few months in PA in spring/summer, comes up for PSU football games, etc.) If he buys a gun on line, he has it transferred to the FFL who will be handling the transfer (me if he is going to be here, or his FFL in FL if he is going to be there). If he is here, I call PICS, and talk to a PICS operator. I tell the operator that he is a dual state resident and that I have copies (he makes them for me to have when we do the transfer) of his tax bills and receipts. I then give PICS his name, social security number, FL drivers license number and any other info they ask. The run the BGC and then give me the approval number (I've been fortunate that none have ever been denied or put into research).

Perfectly legal both federally and in PA. The PICS operators know what to do and ask for the information that they need to do the background check. Really doesn't take much longer than any other BGC that needs to go through a PICS operator (other than doing a BGC on a foreign national).

Hope this answers your question. If not let me know if I need to elaborate more on a specific area.

[bklnjets]

i hope you don't plan on leaving guns unattended in a vacation home. vacation homes are prime targets for theft in my area, second to foreclosures.
walking around in the safe city one day, you might just find that the guy mugging you has a ~very~ familiar piece.

if i recall, some of the local ranges will discount or include some rental terms with their membership.
maybe, move out of the city to NY state where you might be able to buy local and possess a firearm, while remaining close enough for commute.
or do like most of my neighbors, transplant then martz bus into the city every morning.

Changing your drivers license usually winds up being more than simply changing your license. somehow something else always winds up having to change.

I do plan on buying a gun safe before I go buy any firearms once I have the house. Also, it's in a gated community where they haven't had any crime in quite some time.

I am trying to figure out whether changing my DL would also lead to changing my car's plates and insurance.

[Xringshooter]

Walleyehunter - I don't do ANYTHING that might jeopardize my firearms license. Before I did my first dual resident transfer, I called the PSP Firearms Unit Admin section and talked to them to get as much insight as possible. They told me what information I needed to get from the buyer and to get copies of his tax documents to attach to my paperwork in case it would be needed during a future inspection/inquiry. The PSP Firearms Unit was very helpful to make sure everything was done correctly.

fallenleader - The people that I have done this type of transfer for have (well they told me and by the guns they buy I don't doubt their word) gun safes (and in one case a gun vault room) to store their guns when they are not actively living in the house. They also have children going to PSU who live in the house so the houses don't sit empty. However, even if they didn't, all I can do is advise them it's a bad idea to leave the guns, even in a safe, in an unoccupied house. What they do is their choice.

[Xringshooter]

...
I am trying to figure out whether changing my DL would also lead to changing my car's plates and insurance.

Yes it would, a cars plates and the owners DL should match (exception would be a military member) and I'm sure your insurance company wants to see a match between a minimum of license plates and where you actually live the majority of the time, if not all 3 matching. However, I am neither an attorney nor a licensed auto insurance agent so I very well could be incorrect.