[Mario]

Hi everyone,
I found this forum rather interesting because I am myself fascinated with guns, shotguns, rifles, M13s and whatever needs be loaded and unloaded.
Lot of friends told me that in US you need to be 18 to own a shotgun and 21 to own a handgun. Easy as it sounds, you go to the gun shop and get it!

To me it’s something completely new and handsome because in Italy you need to go through a lot of [bleep] before actually be able to keep a gun; you need to take classes, you need to have a license, you need to do psychological exams and bla.bla.bla.bla.

You can imagine how my attention got caught when I heard about how simple it works in the States, in particular here in Texas.
However, I have a question:
Can I, Italian citizen, buy a gun like any other American citizens?

I thank in advance any brave man who read all this and will eventually satisfy my thirst of knowledge.

--->Mario

 

[CAV]

Howdy from a fellow Texan.

Unfortunately, there are still certain legal requirements that must be met for you, a non-citizen, can purchase a firearm in Texas. Buying from a private citizen would certainly be easier. Consult the official state websites for specific details. Here are a few to get you started:

Texas info

Texas gun laws

DPS website

 

[Guest]

I got my first gun before the 1968 gun

law, and I've probably bought over half of the 200+ guns that I've owned from private sellers. I've sold nearly all of them to private buyers, never once asked for an ID, either. Does that give you any ideas? I'm not exactly unique in this regard, ya know.

 

[Aslan]

Be careful when someone hints that you might want to do something less than legal.

You can own firearms as a alien (foreign guest). In fact, I know of several non-US citizens that have concealed carry permits here in AZ.

I wouldn't risk my immigration status over something stupid if I were in your shoes...

Go to a gun store and ask if the person there knows what the requirements are.

If they don't, go to another store, or ask if they have a list of "gun friendly" attorneys. I know of several ranges and gun stores that have such lists. They should be able to answer your questions.

Things have gotten squirrely since 9-11 and you could find yourself in deep doo do if you do something ilegal involving the purchase of a fire arm.

Just my two cents.

 

[KJUN]

On top of that, I know it is illegal to buy a gun in a state that you are not a resident in, sell a gun you aren't a resident in, or sell a gun to someone who isn't a resident of your state - even for US citizens. Of course, I'm not a lawyer or anything, so I might be misunderstanding those rules slightly. FFL dealers can sell across state lines, but they can only ship to other FFL dealers. Follow?

The tricky part is how do you define residency? Boston's Gun Bible has some neat sections on just that fact. I think his train of logic is a little risky for me, though. We shouldn't NEED a residency requirment in the US.

KJ

 

[Guest]

Since millions of Mexicans manage to

get ID that's good enough to work under (for many years at the same job) and since Italians and Mexicans look a lot alike, I don't see where you have any real problem, at all.