The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Obtaining an alien firearms license

jg0001 · June 26, 2008, 02:17 PM

To someone surprised you can't purchase a firearm in WA without a license, guess what? Same thing applies in NJ (for full U.S. Citizens, even)

Last year, I had to wait nearly 4 months to get my "Firearms Purchaser ID Card" and two "1 time use" handgun purchaser permits. Now, the first is needed to buy any weapon, and is required for long-guns as well. The 2nd is required for EACH handgun purchase, and the 2nd expires. Also, I've noticed that some places also ask to see your Firearms Purchaser ID card just to buy AMMO. No b.s.!

So in NJ, if you want a handgun, you have to:
(1) go to your local POLICE STATION
(2) fill out the necessary forms, which are quite invasive; they also include many questions that are solely designed to let them sue you later, to which no person would ever answer "yes" -- (i.e. one of the questions is "do you have plans to overthrow the NJ government"; I guess if you were a nutjob and did try to overthrow the gov't they could add a count to your courtcase based on your form)
(3) get every finger of both hands fingerprinted
(4) pay via moneyorder (no cash) about $55
(5) provide TWO references, who must fill out a form about you AND respond to questions by the police, if asked, about you
(6) provide a WORK REFERENCE who will be contacted by the police to verify your employment (and/or find out if you're a crazy)
(7) wait a multiple of the statutory time NJ is really permitted to actually get your licenses
(8) repeat a part of the process every time you want to buy a new handgun -- while there are no limits (yet!) to how many handguns you can buy, there is an effective delay every time you want to buy one in waiting for the 'purchasing' permits (which do expire in 60-90 days)
(9) when buying a handgun, submit personal information, including socsec# to the gun dealer for yet another background check

I will say that the Detective in my area was exceptionally friendly and helpful with the process and was just as annoyed with having to go through the process as I was. He claimed the NJ state police (remember, my guy's a local cop, so he wasn't criticizing his direct brethren) was very slow in turning around the background checks/fingerprints, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Now, I can reasonably say that no self-respecting criminal is likely to sit through this process, in a police station no less, provide fingerprints so that they can be put on file, nor want to wait 3-6 months for permission to buy a weapon. So in that regard, criminals will likely look elsewhere to buy their weapons, not that they have any trouble finding them.

At the same time, law abiding citizens are put through the same process as a criminal, as if they committed a crime, just to exercise a constitutional right. The fingerprinting area used for this purpose was the same area used to book criminals. It was unnerving, to say the least.

June 26, 2008, 02:17 PM	#130
jg0001 Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2007 Posts: 551	To someone surprised you can't purchase a firearm in WA without a license, guess what? Same thing applies in NJ (for full U.S. Citizens, even) Last year, I had to wait nearly 4 months to get my "Firearms Purchaser ID Card" and two "1 time use" handgun purchaser permits. Now, the first is needed to buy any weapon, and is required for long-guns as well. The 2nd is required for EACH handgun purchase, and the 2nd expires. Also, I've noticed that some places also ask to see your Firearms Purchaser ID card just to buy AMMO. No b.s.! So in NJ, if you want a handgun, you have to: (1) go to your local POLICE STATION (2) fill out the necessary forms, which are quite invasive; they also include many questions that are solely designed to let them sue you later, to which no person would ever answer "yes" -- (i.e. one of the questions is "do you have plans to overthrow the NJ government"; I guess if you were a nutjob and did try to overthrow the gov't they could add a count to your courtcase based on your form) (3) get every finger of both hands fingerprinted (4) pay via moneyorder (no cash) about $55 (5) provide TWO references, who must fill out a form about you AND respond to questions by the police, if asked, about you (6) provide a WORK REFERENCE who will be contacted by the police to verify your employment (and/or find out if you're a crazy) (7) wait a multiple of the statutory time NJ is really permitted to actually get your licenses (8) repeat a part of the process every time you want to buy a new handgun -- while there are no limits (yet!) to how many handguns you can buy, there is an effective delay every time you want to buy one in waiting for the 'purchasing' permits (which do expire in 60-90 days) (9) when buying a handgun, submit personal information, including socsec# to the gun dealer for yet another background check I will say that the Detective in my area was exceptionally friendly and helpful with the process and was just as annoyed with having to go through the process as I was. He claimed the NJ state police (remember, my guy's a local cop, so he wasn't criticizing his direct brethren) was very slow in turning around the background checks/fingerprints, and there was nothing they could do about it. Now, I can reasonably say that no self-respecting criminal is likely to sit through this process, in a police station no less, provide fingerprints so that they can be put on file, nor want to wait 3-6 months for permission to buy a weapon. So in that regard, criminals will likely look elsewhere to buy their weapons, not that they have any trouble finding them. At the same time, law abiding citizens are put through the same process as a criminal, as if they committed a crime, just to exercise a constitutional right. The fingerprinting area used for this purpose was the same area used to book criminals. It was unnerving, to say the least.