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Lawrence Open Carry - purchase age question

hallpass

New member
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Messages
1
Location
kansas
Hey

I'm about to turn 18 and am wondering if someone can help explain the laws as far as purchasing a handgun. At 18 can I purchase a handgun? I know it says you can't but then I've read one can be gifted or possibly that I could be able to go to a gun show and purchase one? I would ask why I could buy an Ar-15 at age 18 but not a handgun.. I'm guessing that is a different topic.
 

DWCook

Activist Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2010
Messages
432
Location
Lenexa, Kansas
You cannot purchase a handgun in Kansas UNLESS you are 21 or older. Even at gun shows I have been asked and my age verified that I was at least 21 or older. As far as getting it as a gift, I'm not 100% sure on that. Let me check some information out as far as that particular question.
 

Jake8x7

Activist Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Messages
109
Location
DeLand, FL
I am NOT a resident of Kansas, and I do not know your gun laws. All I'm going to do is point you to what you need to look for.

1. Are there any State statutes that specifically set the age of OC to 21? If there is no such statute, then the Fed. law of 18 would apply (don't bother getting into certain state with below 18 requirements, that's beyond me).
2. Are there any state statutes that specifically set age requires for PRIVATE PARTY handguns transfers? If there are no such requirements, then the age is presumed to be 18.
3. Does your state require some sort of permit for OC? If so, what age?

You will find that in some states (such as Florida) that the age to OC (when OC is otherwise legal) is 18 because you do not need a permit to do so, and there are no state laws with an OC age requirement. All FFLs require 21 to buy a handgun, but some states do not put the 21 restriction of private sales (such as FL).

Other states (such as Ohio) have a State set age limit of 21 via both FFL and private sale, but still allow OC at 18. The result is that someone like me (19) who has ALREADY purchased their handgun elsewhere legally (Florida private sale from and to Florida residents) is actually able to OC in Ohio- something that a 19 y/o Ohio resident can't do because they're not able to purchase a handgun by any means.

Keep in mind that whenever two individuals from two different states want to transfer firearms, the trade becomes an interstate trade- something controlled by the Federal government (which would require an FFL).

Jake8x7
 
Last edited:

marine0300

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Messages
367
Location
Topeka, Kansas, USA
OK to Open Carry at 18 in KS

Chapter 21.--CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

PART II.--PROHIBITED CONDUCT

Article 42.--CRIMES AGAINST THE PUBLIC SAFETY

21-4204a. Criminal possession of firearm by a juvenile. (a) Criminal possession of a firearm by a juvenile is knowingly possessing a firearm with a barrel less than 12 inches long by any person less than 18 years of age.

(b) Criminal possession of a firearm by a juvenile is a class A nonperson misdemeanor. A second or subsequent violation is a severity level 8, nonperson felony.

(c) It shall be a defense to a prosecution of criminal possession of a firearm by a juvenile if such person less than 18 years of age was:

(1) In attendance at a hunter's safety course or a firearms safety course;

(2) engaging in practice in the use of such firearm or target shooting at an established range authorized by the governing body of the jurisdiction in which such range is located;

(3) engaging in an organized competition involving the use of such firearm, or participating in or practicing for a performance by an organization exempt from federal income tax pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code of 1986 which uses firearms as a part of such performance;

(4) hunting or trapping pursuant to a valid license issued to such person pursuant to article 9 of chapter 32 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated and amendments thereto;

(5) traveling with any such firearm in such person's possession being unloaded to or from any activity described in paragraphs (1) through (4), only if such firearm is secured, unloaded and outside the immediate access of such person;

(6) on real property under the control of such person's parent, legal guardian or grandparent and who has the permission of such parent, legal guardian or grandparent to possess such firearm; or

(7) at such person's residence and who, with the permission of such person's parent or legal guardian, possesses such firearm for the purpose of exercising the rights contained in K.S.A. 21-3211, 21-3212 or 21-3213 and amendments thereto.

(d) This section shall be part of and supplemental to the Kansas criminal code.

History: L. 1994, ch. 270, § 1; July 1.
 

Jake8x7

Activist Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Messages
109
Location
DeLand, FL
You cannot purchase a handgun in Kansas UNLESS you are 21 or older. Even at gun shows I have been asked and my age verified that I was at least 21 or older. As far as getting it as a gift, I'm not 100% sure on that. Let me check some information out as far as that particular question.

Was the sell an FFL? Does Kansas have specific laws against selling handguns at gun shows to 18-20 year olds (yet still allows 18+ private party anywhere else)? Does Kansas have any laws against private party sales 18-20 years old?

From what Marine posted it appears 18-20 year old private party purchasing is legal.


Jake8x7
 

marine0300

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Messages
367
Location
Topeka, Kansas, USA
NRA-ILA Legal Update -- December 2011

NRA-ILA Legal Update -- December 2011
Opening Briefs Filed in Federal Age Limit Challenge
On Dec. 5, the NRA filed its opening appellate brief on behalf of several law-abiding young adults challenging the federal ban on dealer sales of handguns and handgun ammunition to persons between the ages of 18 and 20. The case is Jennings v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and will be heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. (A similar case challenging Texas' age limit of 21 for issuance of concealed handgun licenses remains pending in the trial court.)
The appeal challenges a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which held that the law does not violate the Second Amendment. The lower court wrongly compared the ban to other restrictions the Supreme Court has said would be “presumptively lawful," such as the ban on sales to convicted felons.
In response, the brief points out that nearly a decade before Supreme Court decided District of Columbia v. Heller, the Fifth Circuit itself had held (in the 2001 case of United States v. Emerson) that Second Amendment claims should be decided based on the amendment's "history and text." The history of the Founding era makes clear that 18-year-olds were considered adults for purposes of the right to keep and bear arms; for example, the Militia Act of 1792 required 18-year-olds to "be enrolled in the militia" and to arm themselves accordingly.
The brief also argues that the right to possess arms clearly implies a right to acquire arms—a principle that has been recognized in other areas, such as First Amendment law. For example, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a New York City anti-graffiti law banning retail sales of marking pens and spray paint to people under 21, even though older friends or relatives could buy these items for use by legitimate young artists.
Amazingly, the government makes a similar argument in Jennings, suggesting that the ban on dealer sales is constitutional because young adults could legally receive handguns or ammunition as gifts, or buy them in private, unlicensed sales. (The government's argument surely must be causing heartburn at the Brady Center, since the alternatives suggested by the government would not be subject to background checks in most states.)
But as the NRA's brief notes, "none of the Plaintiffs has found this mode of random scrounging for second-hand pistols from unlicensed individual gun owners to be a satisfactory avenue for acquiring reliable, safe, and popular handguns." And a "friend of the court" brief by the National Shooting Sports Foundation points out that the ban deprives young buyers of benefits that are more readily available through licensed dealers, such as warranties, instruction manuals and safety training.
 
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