I don't know.....Is getting a gun easier than getting a driver's license?

[Stuart G]

...........I really don't know..............
............But I had to take tests of various kinds, to get a driver's license.
............Driver's Tests, Written tests, photos for driver's license..proof of Identity, etc.
............I have never really tried to buy a gun in any state in the U.S.A.
............ I know that some of us at .Democratic Underground know the answer to this question.
........... Thank You for Answering This One.


...............

MY HAT IS OFF TO ALL WHO KNOW THE ANSWER....

[Ocelot II]

1. In most states, yes. To get a drivers' license you have to take a written test

and a road test. Requirements to buy a gun depend on the state and the type of gun, but if you buy a long gun from a private seller all you'll probably need is money.

[TexasDem69]

22. Many states will issue a driver license without a driving test

If you already have a valid DL from another state.

[FakeNoose]

2. I know that it's possible to travel to other states to buy a gun

... where perhaps the laws are less restrictive than one's home state. However for a driver's license that would be nearly impossible. One must prove residence in the state where one applies and takes the test.

Please note: I've never purchased a gun in any state.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

5. You cannot cross state lines and buy a gun without it going through an FFL dealer,

you can buy the firearm, but, by Federal law, it must be transferred to an FFL dealer in your state for a BG check, now in state, depending upon the state you live in, you can fork out the money and walk away with it, no questions asked, which, IMHO, is just fucking nuts, all firearms transactions, whether through a gun store or private seller, should be required to have a BGC to determine if the buyer is a prohibited person.

[madinmaryland]

9. What is FFL and BGC? Thanks!

[MarineCombatEngineer]

12. My apologies,

FFL=Federal Fireams License,
BGC=Back Ground Check.

Peace out
Dan

[madinmaryland]

14. Thanks...

Isn’t background one word?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

16. In this case,

you are absolutely correct,
My bad.

[sir pball]

32. You can't buy a *handgun* out of state. Long guns are fine to travel and purchase.

[A] licensee may sell a rifle or shotgun to a person who is not a resident of the state where the licensee’s business premises is located in an over–the–counter transaction, provided the transaction complies with state law in the state where the licensee is located and in the state where the purchaser resides.

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-licensee-sell-firearm-nonlicensee-who-resident-another-state


WRT your second point, I think all transactions should not only have a BGC but be done through an FFL, so there's at least some sort of record in the form of a 4473. It's the only way I'll sell a gun, transfer via a dealer and also a bill of sale for my own records – I've declined more than one offer for significantly more than my asking price if we can just do it with a handshake…no thanks, Mr. Obvious Felon.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

33. Ok, thanks for that info

and your second paragraph is one I wholeheartedly agree with.

[ForgedCrank]

37. You still

can't go buy a gun out of state. It MUST be shipped directly and only to an FFL in the state where you reside, then you must go there, do the background forms, and then you can pick it up. The same rule applies to handguns.
I can "mail order" a handgun right now and buy it online with a credit card, no problem. Except it doesn't show up at my house like an Amazon package. It has to go through the process I described above. There are no exceptions.

[sir pball]

38. Yes, you can. Read the ATF link.

You can't purchase a gun from out of state and have it mailed to you, but it's perfectly legal to travel to another state, buy a long gun from an FFL, and personally transport it home, so long as the laws of both the dealer's and your own states are followed. Please educate yourself.

[ForgedCrank]

39. Ok, I'll

go see if I can find me one of these educations.

[sir pball]

42. It's right here at this link, cheers!

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/may-licensee-sell-firearm-nonlicensee-who-resident-another-state

Genuinely curious though, how does that read to you as a prohibition on in-person sales to a nonresident? I like to know how people's minds work, it can make explaining things to others with the same difficulties easier

[ForgedCrank]

29. You cannot

travel to other states and buy a gun, it's a serious felony and will land you in prison for 10 years. I wouldn't recommend it.
Besides, no dealer will sell you one if you aren't a resident. Dealers don't like prison either.

[sir pball]

36. Rifles are generally fine and legal to purchase out-of-state, see post 32 nt

[MiniMe]

3. You also have to show a birth certificate to get a license

[Angleae]

28. Could have fooled me.

I've never had to and have been licensed in 2 states (CA, WA)

[hack89]

34. The new RealID licenses do

RI just switched over and I had to prove my identity and citizenship. They accepted a valid passport because you need a BC to get one.

[Meadowoak]

4. Around here, you see plenty of gun toting fools, that I know couldn't pass

A driver's license test.

[TexasDem69]

21. How do you know that?

[Meadowoak]

23. I've seen them drive.

[marble falls]

6. All deprnds, but I can buy one privately or at a gun show just by putty my cash down, legally. Texas

[MarineCombatEngineer]

8. Only if it's a private seller, but if it's a company selling firearms, then, by Federal law,

it has to have a BGC before the transaction can be completed.

IMHO, ALL firearms transactions should be required to have a BGC performed before the buyer can take possession to the firearm

[marble falls]

17. Like I said, private sale or a gun shows that tend to be full of private sellers ...

... the gun show exception isn't over until Sept of this year.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

19. That's true, but firearm shows tend to have undercover ATF, Local and State police looking for

those that are selling more than one or two firearms as a private seller.

[ForgedCrank]

30. No FFL dealer

can or will sell you a gun without doing a required background check. Not even at a gun show, and not in any state.

[Diamond_Dog]

7. Don't many states require proof of insurance for a drivers' license also?

“It is law in Ohio that you must have insurance to drive any motor vehicle. A vehicle owner may not allow anyone else to drive their motor vehicle without insurance. Proof of insurance must be shown at traffic stops, accident scenes, and vehicle inspections.”

Substitute “gun” or “buy a gun” or “use a gun” for “vehicle” and you see a huge difference.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

11. Ok, so let's intitute a mandatory insurance policy for gun ownership,

do you know who the biggest carrier of firearms insurance is right now?

That would be the NRA, so, let me ask you this, do you want to increase the coffers of the NRA?

[NickB79]

13. That only applies to driving on public roads

You can legally buy a car, have it towed to your private land, and drive it all you want with no insurance or license, as long as it stays on private property.

So your comparison does apply to people with CCW permits carrying guns outside their homes, but not to the majority of guns kept at home or just used on a shooting range.

[MichMan]

25. To register a car, but not to get a license

Of course, once you get your plates, many people let their insurance lapse. In my state, there are some insurance companies that let you buy a policy for a couple weeks just to get plates. They pretend that people are expected to make payments every couple weeks, but everyone knows it's a joke.


It is estimated that 60% of Detroit motorists drive uninsured. Police don't really seem to care.

[NickB79]

10. If you don't have a felony or misdemeanor domestic violence conviction, yes

To buy a rifle or shotgun, it's just filling out the background check form. Takes about 10 minutes, then you pay and leave.

For a handgun or AR-15, some states like mine (Minnesota) make you get a permit to purchase from the local PD first, but that's also just a background check, filling out a few forms. Takes 1-2 weeks to get the permit mailed to you, then you go buy it.

A few states still have a waiting period, but not many.

Oregon now requires you take a safety training class to buy a gun, which I believe is the first state to do so. Odds are pretty good the Supreme Court will smack that down on appeal.

[Straw Man]

15. Well ...

To buy a rifle or shotgun, it's just filling out the background check form. Takes about 10 minutes, then you pay and leave.

You don't just fill out the form. The dealer takes the form and enters your info into the NICS system, which then runs an instant background check. At that point, you get a "proceed," "deny," or "delay."

[NickB79]

18. It's all on iPads now

You personally fill it out, hit SUBMIT, and wait for the dealer to get the response back. Bought my daughter her first shotgun for deer hunting last fall like this.

So yes, the ATF still does it's thing, but it's fast. When I was in college I working a gun store and dealt with the paper copies and physically calling the NICS number. That was a pain.

[Straw Man]

20. Not for everyone.

A lot of dealers are still doing it on paper. They submit it online rather than using the phone, and it is a lot faster -- unless there's a delay. Then it can be anywhere from three to ten days, depending on whether your state has stricter guidelines than the feds.

[ForgedCrank]

31. Most dealers

still do the paper forms and call in to do live authorizations. There is an online thing, but the guys I know hate using it for some reason. The phone call only takes 2-3 minutes. The really huge stores now have a computer system where you fill it out, but the process is still the same. I've found that the paper form and phone call method is faster anyway.

[Kaleva]

24. You should be comparing buying a car to buying a gun

If you want to compare licenses, then you should compare getting a driver's license to getting a concealed pistol license .

I had to go thru hours of training, take both a written and practical test, provide ID and pay fees to get a CPL.

[SYFROYH]

41. This is the better analogy.

Cars are to guns as driver licenses are to gun permits/licenses.

[Kaleva]

46. And I needed the driver's license in order to get the CPL

If I didn't have a driver's license, I would have had to get photo ID issued by the state.

[d_r]

26. I had to have a driver's license

To purchase a firearm.

Also I fell through a crack when I was 16 and never took a driving test. The lady gave me my license and I just isn't complain.

[KentuckyWoman]

27. US of A

Guns are a god given right.
Driving is a privilege once earned.

[LexVegas]

35. Driving a car isn't a Constitutional right. nt

[Kaleva]

40. For most of us, we had to get the driver's license before we could buy a gun

As one needs a valid ID.

[Caliman73]

43. In California...

You have to take a written test for safety to qualify to purchase. You have to demonstrate safe handling. You have have a locking mechanism prior to pick up. All sales have to go through a Federal Firearms License holder, including private sales. You have a 10 day waiting period for each purchase. There is a limit of one handgun in a 30 day period (I do not think that limit applies for long guns). All handguns need to be on the California DOJ approved list. All assault weapons are banned unless all features the make it an assault weapon are modified or removed.

No magazine can be purchased or modified to carry more than 10 rounds.

In other states, it is likely much easier.

[NowISeetheLight]

44. South Carolina & Arizona

Lived in both. Walked in, filled out the form, walked out with guns. Easy. Getting a CCW permit was easy too. Arizona I had a four hour class and range qualification. In South Carolina it was a four hour class but they exempt former military from the range qualification.

Compare to California where I live now. I couldnt even buy Ammo here right away. I took an online CCW class here but decided not to apply because they have a question about have you ever been in a psych hospital. Not the involuntary that excludes you from gun ownership but any circumstances. I've had a few voluntary VA Hospital stays for PTSD and decided it's not worth it. They do an interview here too and if they decide you need an independent psych evaluation at your expense. A lot of hoops.

[jmowreader]

45. It is.

To get a driver’s license, first you have to prove that you understand the traffic laws, and then you have to prove you can drive a car well enough to not run into anyone.

To get a gun you have to prove that you’re either not that bad of a criminal or that you haven’t been caught yet.

The sick thing is that you don’t have to prove you don’t intend to do anything awful with the gun. Several people in the last year bought a gun one day and committed a mass shooting with it almost immediately afterward.

Here I’m not talking about buying guns in the parking lot of gun shows or from Craigslist sellers, but from licensed gun brokers.

[Kaleva]

47. What did you have to do to buy a car?

And what did you have to do to get a concealed pistol license?

OP should be comparing buying a car to buying a gun or getting a driver's license to getting a license to conceal carry a gun

One can legally buy a car without having to have had any driver training and you can legally drive that car on your property without a license.

[jmowreader]

48. Oh, it's a lot easier to buy a car

No government investigation at all. If you come in with either cash (well, a check) or pre-arranged financing, the longest part of the whole process is waiting for the dealer prep to be completed. I have purchased a new car with cash and the paperwork is REAL simple. It would have been even simpler if the pandemic wasn't going on because my county's DMV required appointments.

On the other hand, if you are trying to get a CCL for a pistol and you're in a state that requires you to fire on a range a CCL and a driver's license require about the same effort.