Bringing a P30 into California

[JMorse]

Hi all,

Please forgive me if this is the wrong forum. I wasn't sure where to put it.

I live in the Peoples Republic of California. As you probably know, we can't buy a P30 here because it's not on the DoJ list. My Dad lives in Virginia. Today he asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I finally hit him up with the father to son transfer bit via FFL's that as I understand is the only way to do this. He countered with the 'Why don't I just buy it when you visit and you can bring it back on the airlines with you.' bit. What considerations are there for his way of doing things? It's certainly an easier way to go.

Really appreciate the input. I tried explaining to him I don't think that'll fly with DoJ, but his logic sounds reasonable.

[TGS]

I may be reading this incorrectly but what I'm seeing is:
1) I can not buy a P30.
2) To get around this, my dad is going to buy it for me and give it to me.

If so, this would be a straw-purchase and illegal.

Edit: To add to this, unless you're a resident of Virginia it would be illegal for him to give it to you in Virginia so you could fly back with it. He would be doing a FTF transaction with a resident of a different state.

[Kyle Reese]

Seeing that your dad lives in VA, and you in CA, the only legal way for him to transfer the P30 to you would be thru a California FFL.

If that cannot be facilitated, you're out of luck on this one.

Transferring it to you via any other way constitutes a violation of Federal law.

[JMorse]

He's not saavy with this stuff, so I wanted to make sure I was doing it the right way. It's not illegal for me to own the gun, I just can't buy it in Cali. So to clarify the right way -

He buys the gun and gifts it to me via an FFL to FFL transfer. VA to CA. Got it. Thanks all!

[John Ralston]

Already answered above

[DannyZRC]

JMorse, if you're not already a member at calguns.net, you probably should be.

you can buy the P30 in CA through a single shot exemption, just find one of the 07FFL's that we have in CA specializing in this. It's generally more expensive than buying one out of state, but it avoids the whole straw purchase angle.

It sounds to me, however, that this isn't a straw purchase scenario. If he wants to buy you a P30, he can do so totally legally, and send it to you through a California FFL through the intrafamilial transfer roster exemption. You can't bring it home on an airplane.

Also, make sure all the mags are blocked to 10 rounds or disassembled into rebuild kits before entering the state.

[TGS]

JMorse, if you're not already a member at calguns.net, you probably should be.

you can buy the P30 in CA through a single shot exemption, just find one of the 07FFL's that we have in CA specializing in this. It's generally more expensive than buying one out of state, but it avoids the whole straw purchase angle.

It sounds to me, however, that this isn't a straw purchase scenario. If he wants to buy you a P30, he can do so totally legally, and send it to you through a California FFL through the intrafamilial transfer roster exemption. You can't bring it home on an airplane.

Also, make sure all the mags are blocked to 10 rounds or disassembled into rebuild kits before entering the state.

I just wanted to clear something up to prevent any confusion:

That scenario of sending it through an FFL is obviously not a straw purchase since it's being transferred through an FFL.

His other scenario he asked about, buying a weapon to give to someone else since they can not legally buy it, is the textbook definition of a straw purchase. That differs from gifting it face-to-face, which is legal provided the state allows face-to-face transactions, the receiving party can legally take possession of it, and both parties are residents of the same state....which in this case they aren't. If JMorse could establish Virginia residency then his dad could simply buy it and give it to him as a gift as long as he's 18 and is otherwise allowed to take possesion of a handgun. Bringing it back to California is a whole other issue.

[JMorse]

As I understand it, bringing a P30 into Cali isn't an issue if it's already registered to you. Shame these are going for such a premium here in Cali. That would really be the easiest way to go about it.

Though I suppose once you factor in tax that's a big chunk that wouldn't be applicable.

[Steven C.]

The answer to your dreams: http://www.tablerockarms.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=63

Where in California are you located?

[DannyZRC]

I just wanted to clear something up to prevent any confusion:

That scenario of sending it through an FFL is obviously not a straw purchase since it's being transferred through an FFL.

His other scenario he asked about, buying a weapon to give to someone else since they can not legally buy it, is the textbook definition of a straw purchase. That differs from gifting it face-to-face, which is legal provided the state allows face-to-face transactions, the receiving party can legally take possession of it, and both parties are residents of the same state....which in this case they aren't. If JMorse could establish Virginia residency then his dad could simply buy it and give it to him as a gift as long as he's 18 and is otherwise allowed to take possesion of a handgun. Bringing it back to California is a whole other issue.

You are confusing the issue, nothing in my quoted post is out of step with California or Federal law. Establishing residency in VA would allow him any rights of a VA citizen, and moving to California allows you to import handguns to CA that aren't on the safe handgun roster, as long as you are not importing large capacity magazines or importing a weapon that violates other California statutes.

None of this is relevant, as his father can perfectly legitimately gift an off roster handgun to him, as intrafamilial transfers are one of the specific exemptions from the CA DOJ safe handgun roster. To do this, all the father needs to do is send the gun to his son's CA FFL with a letter stating it is a gift, include gun's make model and serial in the letter (possibly from a VA FFL that is registered with CA DOJ's system). His father could also bring the gun with him visiting in CA, and do the intrafamilial transfer in person at a CA FFL.

Calguns wiki articles:
http://wiki.calgunsfoundation.org/index.php/Transferring_Firearms_Among_Some_Family_Members

http://wiki.calgunsfoundation.org/index.php/Transferring_firearms_Interstate