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How and Where to Legally Buy Guns in the USA and Europe

Posted on June 13, 2009

WHERE CAN YOU JUST WALK INTO A GUN STORE AND BUY WEAPONS IN THE USA?

Nowhere! Not even in one of the fifty USA states. There are no sales at gun shops unless you are first checked out by the Feds. That involves (usually) a 30 day wait. Once you have your Federal clearance, about 37 states do permit carrying concealed weapons. Most of those 37 states grant reciprocity to permit holders from other states. Some don’t.

Should a permit holder wish to purchase an additional weapon, there is no waiting period since you’ve already been checked out.

Loopholes? Anyone can go to an advertised gun show and at one of the many stalls or display tables buy a pistol from a private seller. There is zero paperwork (not even an ID check). The same holds true for people selling guns privately online or via classified ads. Private, person-to-person gun sales are legal and unregulated. Obviously, it is easy to own an unregistered hand gun in the USA. Hunting rifles and shotguns are openly bought and sold at USA sporting goods stores – along with bicycles and sneakers.

BUYING AND CARRYING GUNS AS A FOREIGNER IN THE USA

A foreigner in the USA can easily and usually legally buy a handgun in a private transaction. In many states, that act would be legal. Carrying a loaded handgun would by definition be illegal, since a foreigner is not a resident and can not qualify for a permit.

The exception to this rule is Florida – the only state we know of which issues weapons permits to non-residents.

WHERE YOU CAN OBTAIN INSTANT ONLINE FIREARMS PERMITS

When US President Ronald Reagan was shot by a young punk in the early eighties, his press secretary, James Brady, got a bullet in the head. He survived, but with dramatically reduced mental capacity. His wife, Sarah, formed an organization which in the early nineties secured the passing of a law known as the ‘Brady Bill’. This mandated a five-day waiting period for purchase of handguns.

This is supposed to have been replaced with an ‘instant check’ system, where the information you put down on a federal government form is run through an FBI computer while you wait at the counter.

The only place where we know where this ‘instant check’ really works is the US state of Nevada. If you are a resident of Nevada, you can walk into any local gun shop and purchase a pistol.

You then wait about 10-15 minutes for their instant check system to register you. After that (assuming you are not a convicted felon) you walk out with your new ‘Colt 45,’ a holster, and a box of ammo.

New Hampshire, a small state known for its libertarian population, allows residents to carry concealed weapons without any permit whatsoever. However a Federal background check at the time of the gun purchase is still required.  But only if you are purchasing from a licensed NH retail dealer.

Otherwise, implementation varies somewhat by state. Some will issue a ‘concealed-carry’ permit, authorizing the bearer to carry a loaded handgun on his person, within that particular state. In Pennsylvania, the bearer of such a permit may also buy handguns without any check whatsoever, just as he’d buy a candy bar.

If all this makes it sound like America is one giant gun free-for-all, be aware that there are many states where mere possession of a handgun, at any time, is a felony. New Jersey is one of these. The same is true in the District of Columbia. New York and Maryland also have extremely strict regulations.

SHOTGUNS AND RIFLES – EASIER TO PURCHASE AND OWN

All US states allow possession of shotguns and rifles, with much less restriction than for handguns. There is no federally-mandated background check on long barrel non-automatic guns, although one still has to fill out a brief form. The general theme of both the handgun and long gun forms is: -Name, address, Social Security Number and questions such as: Are you a convicted felon? Have you ever been held in a mental institution against your will? Are you an alcoholic? Do you use controlled substances? Give the right answers and you walk out with your rifle or shotgun.

GUN RULES IN EUROPE

There is a free market (USA style) in Switzerland and in Italy – outside of big cities. But non-residents may not carry guns in any of those places except to/from/at recognized sporting events or for hunting (with a proper licence).

Other countries allow the possession of guns for sporting purposes. These include France, Hungary, Estonia and the Czech Republic. In Russia and parts of Eastern Europe, gun ownership is strictly limited by law, but enforcement is lax.

Legally owning firepower is difficult or impossible almost everywhere else in the first world.

This posting courtesy of ByeByeBigBrother.com

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