VA private gun sale question

VA Big E · Oct 17, 2012

Can a person living in VA, who is currently a resident of another state, sell a gun here in VA? Here is the situation, I have a friend who is working here in VA long term and is from Georgia, and this person is considering selling a gun, in which they purchased new in georgia a few years ago. However, my friend thought that they had to go back to Georgia in order to lawfully sell the gun. I may be mistaken, but I do not think Georgia requires registration of handguns. my friend would prefer not to drive back to Georgia.

ed · Oct 17, 2012

VA Big E said:
Can a person living in VA, who is currently a resident of another state, sell a gun here in VA? Here is the situation, I have a friend who is working here in VA long term and is from Georgia, and this person is considering selling a gun, in which they purchased new in georgia a few years ago. However, my friend thought that they had to go back to Georgia in order to lawfully sell the gun. I may be mistaken, but I do not think Georgia requires registration of handguns. my friend would prefer not to drive back to Georgia.

A Virginia resident can sell to another Virginia resident.

VA Big E · Oct 17, 2012

ed said:
A Virginia resident can sell to another Virginia resident.

Ed, thanks for the reply. As long as this person can show he is a resident in VA, he will comply with the laws. Does he need a VA id to prove residency, or can he just show that he has had a residence for over a year here in va, by using his utility bills if they are ever questioned by a potential buyer?

The reason I ask is because he still holds valid georgia id, and does not want to change unless he is hired permanently by the company i work for.

ed · Oct 17, 2012

http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/pdf/dmv143.pdf

VA Big E · Oct 17, 2012

ed said:
http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/pdf/dmv143.pdf

Got it, thanks for the link. I will pass this on to my friend.

peter nap · Oct 17, 2012

VA Big E said:
Ed, thanks for the reply. As long as this person can show he is a resident in VA, he will comply with the laws. Does he need a VA id to prove residency, or can he just show that he has had a residence for over a year here in va, by using his utility bills if they are ever questioned by a potential buyer?

The reason I ask is because he still holds valid georgia id, and does not want to change unless he is hired permanently by the company i work for.

No ID is needed in a face to face private transaction.
No paperwork is required.

VA Big E · Oct 17, 2012

peter nap said:
No ID is needed in a face to face private transaction.
No paperwork is required.

I understand, based upon your information, but shouldn't the seller at least ask the buyer for ID to make sure the person is at least 18, even if they may or may not be a resident. I know that the buyer is not required to comply with the request, but it may raise an eyebrow from the seller to maybe decide not to follow through with the transaction. I would try and ask for id, unless the buyer was a family member, but that is just me. I know that other people have their own opinions and i respect them

VA Big E · Oct 17, 2012

I am simply going to forward the flyer to my friend and he can make his own decision on what he needs to do. I was just trying to make sure that he gets good information about what he needs to do. Thank you all for the input and the education that this site provides.

peter nap · Oct 17, 2012

VA Big E said:
I understand, based upon your information, but shouldn't the seller at least ask the buyer for ID to make sure the person is at least 18, even if they may or may not be a resident. I know that the buyer is not required to comply with the request, but it may raise an eyebrow from the seller to maybe decide not to follow through with the transaction. I would try and ask for id, unless the buyer was a family member, but that is just me. I know that other people have their own opinions and i respect them

That's a personal decision. As long as I have no reason to believe the buyer is prohibited, I mind my own business.
Others do things differently sometimes.

zoom6zoom · Oct 17, 2012

If he hasn't actually established residency, he can still do a transaction but will have to enlist the aid of an FFL. He can bring the firearm to the FFL who can then transfer it to the state resident.

Mike · Oct 17, 2012

VA Big E said:
I understand, based upon your information, but shouldn't the seller at least ask the buyer for ID to make sure the person is at least 18, even if they may or may not be a resident.

No. If you have reason to believe that the person is not a resident of Virginia, or not at least 18, it would not be prudent to sell to a person even if they HAVE ID from Virginia.

And some actual residents of Virginia, e.g., military members and family members, and college students, snowbirds, etc., often carry ID from other states.

Just follow the law - do not transfer to any person who you have reason to know is not an actual resident of the state or under 18.

ed · Oct 17, 2012

Mike said:
Just follow the law - do not transfer to any person who you have reason to know is not an actual resident of the state or under 18.

+1

TFred · Oct 17, 2012

I skimmed through here, including the DMV flier, but I don't think I saw the information that is needed to answer the question.

What is the definition of "resident" for the purchase of a handgun? If I'm not mistaken, it's Federal Code which restricts the sale of handguns to same-state residents. Does that code also define what a resident is?

The DMV flier is for Virginia residents temporarily living outside Virginia, not the other way around.

TFred

peter nap · Oct 18, 2012

TFred said:
I skimmed through here, including the DMV flier, but I don't think I saw the information that is needed to answer the question.

What is the definition of "resident" for the purchase of a handgun? If I'm not mistaken, it's Federal Code which restricts the sale of handguns to same-state residents. Does that code also define what a resident is?

The DMV flier is for Virginia residents temporarily living outside Virginia, not the other way around.

TFred

I don't have the cite right now TFred but I believe 30 days in state makes you a resident.

skidmark · Oct 18, 2012

VA Big E said:
Can a person living in VA, who is currently a resident of another state, sell a gun here in VA? Here is the situation, I have a friend who is working here in VA long term and is from Georgia, and this person is considering selling a gun, in which they purchased new in georgia a few years ago. However, my friend thought that they had to go back to Georgia in order to lawfully sell the gun. I may be mistaken, but I do not think Georgia requires registration of handguns. my friend would prefer not to drive back to Georgia.

The OP has already identified the individual in question as the resident of another state Georgia, which is not Virginia. He has identified that the individual in question does not intend to make Virginia his residence, but is sojourning here for employment purposes only. Pulling tricks about utility bills and the like, when it is known that the seller has been identiofied as a resident of Georgia, is irresponsible. It also violates a forum rule and possibly a law or two (conspiracy to commit __.)

Based on the information presented, the potential seller may not lawfully complete a private transaction in Virginia.

What I may have missed is any information being provided that the non-resident may go to a FFL here in Virginia, transfer the gun to the FFL, who in turn would transfer it to the Virginia resident, making the sale legal all the way around. The seller does not need to return to Georgia to initiate the sale.

It's not rocket surgery, but sometimes folks complicate things unintentionally.

stay safe.

peter nap · Oct 18, 2012

skidmark said:
The OP has already identified the individual in question as the resident of another state Georgia, which is not Virginia. He has identified that the individual in question does not intend to make Virginia his residence, but is sojourning here for employment purposes only. Pulling tricks about utility bills and the like, when it is known that the seller has been identiofied as a resident of Georgia, is irresponsible. It also violates a forum rule and possibly a law or two (conspiracy to commit __.)

Based on the information presented, the potential seller may not lawfully complete a private transaction in Virginia.

What I may have missed is any information being provided that the non-resident may go to a FFL here in Virginia, transfer the gun to the FFL, who in turn would transfer it to the Virginia resident, making the sale legal all the way around. The seller does not need to return to Georgia to initiate the sale.

It's not rocket surgery, but sometimes folks complicate things unintentionally.

stay safe.

Zoom told him about an FFL Skid.
I was wrong about residency. It's a year.

VA Big E · Oct 18, 2012

It seems that the safest option will be the use of an FFL in order to comply with the law and doing so will also keep the seller and the buyer honest. I will also direct him to this website so he can stay informed about gun laws and related information.

Mayhem · Oct 18, 2012

I only do private sales to people I know and do so legally.

Anyone else can go thru the FFL. I do not want my gun to end up in the hands of a felon, wife beater, or nut bag. I do not want the cops knocking on my door asking how they got a gun that was registered to me.

Edit: If the firearm I am selling was originally purchased using a FFL it would be registered to me in the eyes of the BATFE. It could be traced back to me in the end.

roscoe13 · Oct 18, 2012

Mayhem said:
I do not want the cops knocking on my door asking how they got a gun that was registered to me.

Fortunately, we don't have gun registration in VA....

Roscoe

Marco · Oct 18, 2012

Mayhem said:
I only do private sales to people I know and do so legally.

Anyone else can go thru the FFL. I do not want my gun to end up in the hands of a felon, wife beater, or nut bag. I do not want the cops knocking on my door asking how they got a gun that was registered to me.

You must have bought those guns some place other than VA.
There is NO firearm registration in the Commonwealth, other than certain NFA items.

VA private gun sale question

Regular Member

Founder's Club Member - Moderator

Regular Member

Founder's Club Member - Moderator

Regular Member

Accomplished Advocate

Regular Member

Regular Member

Accomplished Advocate

Regular Member

Site Co-Founder

Founder's Club Member - Moderator

Regular Member

Accomplished Advocate

Campaign Veteran

Accomplished Advocate

Regular Member

Regular Member

Campaign Veteran

Regular Member