I'm amazed at handgun availibilty in the US?

Question

I come from a country where to get a hand gun you need to be a member of a club and you must abide my a swag of rules including not being aloud to shoot it unless you are at a registered range. Just to own guns you have to have an interview with a safety officer, you get your record checked and have to sit a seminar and a test. then you have to prove you have a safe storage system. you also need a licence to buy ammo.

Even a military style weapon with a folding stock or a mag over 10 shots is a special class

I am interested in knowing how easy it is to buy a gun in USA - what you have to do to get one. - what legal requirements are involved in storing them - can you carry them in public - and why those that have them feel they need them as they aren't good for hunting.

I am not slamming your gun laws, just interested in your thoughts Thanks heaps

there is no way you could own an Ak or M16 in NZ,

I relise that different states have different rules, interested in all states

Answer 1

1.Pick up a Sunday paper.
2. Select your choice of armament.
3.Place a call.
4. Show up with cash.
5.Drive away with gun.

And you will pretty much have a legal gun...
Oh and if you want a legal fully automatic firearm
you can apply for the Federal permit and pay the license fee and its yours!!


Oh and why does an American feel the need to have them?

Mr. Franklin is credited with saying: "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well- armed lamb contesting the vote."
(Ben Franklin was one of our founding fathers)

We dont keep them for just hunting we prefer to remain "well armed lambs"...Not ignorant sheep waiting for the next slaughter.....

Answer 2

Nationally, it's illegal for felons or those adjudicated to be mentally unstable an potentially homicidal are not allowed to own or have in their posession any firearm. Certain violent misdemeanors are also disqualifiers.
Ownership of automatic weapons has been severely restricted since the 1930's.
One must be 18 years old to buy a long arm, 21 to buy a handgun.
In my state, open carry of handguns in public is illegal unless in a special occupation or in an obvious hunting or range-shooting situation. In reality, this simply means not to flash it around in town. Concealed carry permits are issued on a "must issue" basis; that is, if one passes the written and range tests, and there is no legal restriction, the state police do not have the option of arbitrary denial or needs testing. Your need to carry is considered your own business.
Though California has retained the national 10-day waiting period after purchase of a firearm, much of the country now has the option of the National Insant [background] Check System, and almost all gun shops have found the competition requires they use it.
When you go into a store, you basically show a driver's license, fill out a short form, have them input your data into the NICS, give them the money, and the gun is yours. The last rifle I bought at a local store, I had a new address not shown on the driver's license, so I had to show a utility bill as proof of residence.
Our history is a bit different from yours, so our feelings about non-sporting arms are different. Our country began in revolution, and the first shots were fired when the British made a move to keep a local gunpowder supply out of the hands of politically unreliable citizens. We also have more violent criminals than you. We keep a lot of firearms to protect ourselves from criminals and, as totally unlikely as it is, from a potentially overbearing government, though nobody (at least nobody in his wits) is expecting another revolution any time soon. We have also noted the advantages of our system, disjointed as it is. In 1940, a lot of civilian firearms were sent to London (and you may note there were a few Americans with guns running around Christchurch just a couple of years later). Many of our states have liberalized their concealed-carry laws in recent years, and the uniform result is a drop in violent crime. It's a very pragmatic approach, and liberalized laws are backed by empiric evidence.

Answer 3

To reiterate, in general, laws vary by state in the United States. Gun laws vary greatly.

In Illinois:

To purchase any firearm or ammunition you must have a "FOID" card.

To receive a FOID card, you must make a one-page application which is here - http://www.isp.state.il.us/docs/6-181.pdf. There is no test, interview, or class that must be passed (this is more common in states that allow concealed carry of weapons). To receive the card you basically must be never convicted of a felony, domestic battery, or misdemeanor gun crime, not be an illegal alien, not have been a mental patient in the last 5 years, not retarded or addicted to narcotics. You have to pay $5 for the computer search to verify the above.

Once you have the FOID card you can buy ammo with no waiting period, a rifle or shotgun with a 24 hour waiting period, a handgun with a 72 hour waiting period. Without the FOID card you can't do any of these things, legally at least.

Machine guns, silencers, rifles with a barrel length of less than 16", shotguns with a barrel length of less than 18", and a very few other guns are not allowed in Illinois.

Otherwise, everything is legal. This includes, but is not limited to, some very interesting hardware like .50 cal rifles, semi-auto converted machine guns (M1919A4 is available now - I have seen M-60 semi-only conversions), any handgun you would see a cop with, AR-15, AK-47, FN-FAL, HK 91, FN PS90, FN FS2000.

Hell, that is pretty much my collection.

There is no magazine limit either. Magazines are accessories and don't even require a FOID card. Here is a "Beta C" magazine that holds 100 rounds for sale near me: http://www.rguns.net/005_3.html

One negative is that there is no concealed carry of weapons in Illinois and no ranges on public lands. There are a reasonable number of private ranges in more rural areas and one huge state-funded range downstate in Sparta (the modestly named World Shooting Complex).

Answer 4

The laws for owning and carrying a hand gun vary State to State and pertain and coinside with Federal Law. (Some States allow it, some States do not). To legally own a gun you must be finger printed and have a back ground check before you are given a permit and allowed to purchase a handgun. Google up your State and "hand gun law." You might also have more difficulty obtaining a handgun in the State that you reside (it might be a Federal issue, as well) because you might not be a citizen. You might be able to obtain a gun illegally, but if you are caught with it, you will not only be imprisoned,if you aren't a citizen you will be deported or worse. I'm unsure.

Answer 5

The answers you'll get will vary greatly, as gun owners have to obey both the federal and state laws. California (where I am from) is regarded as one of the stricter states in the United States. California rules for purchasing handguns are similar to what you describe. Notable points are (please remember this list is *NOT* complete):

* You must be 21 years old to purchase a handgun, and free of bans due to convictions or mental illness (some crimes permanently take away a person's right to own any gun, others only give a 5-10 year penalty).

* There is no license to buy ammunition, you must only be 18 years old.

* It is illegal to fire a gun within city limits unless you are at a special place for shooting (like a range) or you are legally allowed to defend yourself or someone else (the law is complicated and I won't go into that here). Once you are outside city limits, it's up to the county, although most counties are very free.

* There is no interview with a safety officer, instead you must pass a written safety test to receive a certificate from the federal Department of Justice. For each handgun purchased, you must also demonstrate to the dealer a short safety test as well. No seminars are required however, it's up to you whether you want to take an actual class, study yourself, or simply take the test with no preparation.

* You must own a safety lock or gun safe for the handgun, although all new handguns tend to be sold with a lock for convenience.

* Federal law requires a mandatory 10 day waiting period for the Department of Justice to conduct a background check.

* California requires a concealed weapon permit to carry a concealed handgun in public. These permits are virtually never given out unless you live in a rural part of the state. To get one, you typically must convince a sheriff's department or police department why you need the extra protection.

* California requires a concealed weapon permit to carry a loaded handgun in public, much like above.

* Since you normally can't carry a concealed or loaded handgun in public, the law grants one exception: if it's unloaded, and locked up in your car, and you are actually driving from place to place. Again, the law is somewhat complicated and I won't go too much into detail.

* Weapons that count as assault weapons are not allowed to be owned, sold, traded, or imported. The only exceptions are for weapons you owned before the law went into effect, and only if you can prove you owned it before the law went into effect. The list of weapons is actually surprisingly large, and includes many things that most people do not consider an assault weapon (pistols with magazines larger than 10 rounds, shotguns with telescoping stocks and a pistol grip, pistols with threaded barrels, etc.)

* The most commonly cited reason for owning a handgun is for self-defense, most hunters tend to use rifles or shotguns. Hunting enthusiasts do use pistols for hunting, mostly as a form of challenge. Some fisherman also carry large revolvers to protect themselves from bears (particularly in Alaska).

As for whether it's easy or not to purchase a handgun, I believe that's a matter of opinion. The paperwork, and $25 registration fee took me about 2 hours to fill out with the dealer. Despite the paperwork, stores are more than willing to assist you in any legal way they can.

Answer 6

Our country has a bill of rights; our founding fathers came from a time when the common low life schmoe had no rights in any other country so we wrote some into our constitution; the right of free speach, the right to own and bear arms, etc. Read the Preamble some time; it states that the reason for our bill of rights is that the common man does not trust big, powerful government.

Answer 7

God Bless the USA!!!!

(Laws differ from state to state, but in Missouri....)
Pass a background check and youve got a gun. Yes you can carry them in public, as long as they are visible, but it will be frowned upon and most likely, you will be asked to leave, or the police will be called on you. You can also conceal handguns, but only after passing a CCW class, and keeping a registration current from year to year (just like a drivers license).

Its different everywhere with different guidelines and restrictions

Answer 8

I"m not sure how it is in other states, but in Kansas, you have to fill out some paperwork, the place where you are buying the gun makes a phone call to do a background check on you, and if you pass, you can purchase the gun.

Answer 9

it depends on what state you are in i live in Kentucky to buy a rifle ,shotgun or pistol they just make a phone call and if you have no criminal record you get a gun to buy a automatic ,silencer/suppressor you will need a class 3 all you do is get finger printed and a picture fill out some paper work have the sheriff do a background check if you pass you send all your paper work and $200 to the ATF in Washington DC and in 3 to 6 mouths you can have a machine gun

and this is where you can get any gun legally
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIZpCLvXsoM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31vm3-BQRJU
http://www.subguns.com/

Answer 10

I think, U.S. gun laws are basically the same as yours, only that the red tape is gone.... even with the waiting period.
In my country its almost the same basically, but its not a 10 day waiting period, the whole process takes months all due to red tape. Yup, we still go around the laws, but still takes a lot of time, and a lot of money.