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Bonnen pre-files gun bill
By John Tompkins
The Facts

Published November 19, 2008
A local legislator pre-filed a bill that would make it legal for gun enthusiasts to buy weapons in states that don’t share a border with Texas.

State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, filed House Bill 267 ahead of the 81st regular session of the Texas Legislature, which convenes Jan. 13. Bonnen said he authored the bill after a constituent told to him recently he couldn’t buy a rifle in Mississippi while on a trip.

????????? One guy complains and a Bill gets written?

And now I have a question? ......Can I already buy a gun in States that DO share a border with Texas and is my Texas CHL good (no NCIS Check) in those States?

AEA wrote:One guy complains and a Bill gets written?

What's the problem? Everyone seems to want to be represented by legislators who share 100% of their views, so why not?

I was shocked to realize that I had scanned this section of the law many times and never really understood it:

PC §46.07. INTERSTATE PURCHASE. A resident of this state may, if not otherwise precluded by law, purchase firearms, ammunition, reloading components, or firearm accessories in contiguous states.

This law is obsolete and should be updated.

I don't know if NICS bypass works in other states. I don't travel much.

- Jim

Well, while I agree with the purpose of the Bill, I still can't get over how one constituent could manage to get a Bill written when all of us (CHL'ers) usually need a whole bunch more people in agreement before anything is even considered.

Sportsmen (Rifle purchase) was the catalyst in this case..........wonder if it was a AR15?

I had always believed that it was only legal to purchase a long gun in a contiguous state, not a handgun.

More recently, I had read that the contiguous restriction on long guns had been lifted.

Can't put my finger on it, so nothing more than rumor.

The contiguous states rule was part of the Gun Control Act of 1968. It was removed by the Firearm Owner Protection Act of 1986. Some states still have it embedded in state law.

It is more difficult to figure out what is not illegal than what is illegal, but you can search for the contiguous states rule in 18 U.S.C. 922. It ain't there no more.

As for getting personalized, custom legislation, has anyone here asked their state rep or senator?

- Jim

TSRA had received a few complaints about NICS rejecting out-of-state purchases of long guns, based upon TPC §46.07. That section of the Code was passed at a time that the feds required one's home state to have a statute that specifically authorized purchases in contiguous states. Apparently, the FBI has been rejecting purchases for Texas residents because §46.07 specifically references "contiguous states."

The FBI is wrong, but this mistake comes from passing a statute that specifies certain conduct is legal. This is not the way penal statutes are written. Penal codes and statutes specify conduct that is prohibited, although exceptions to those prohibitions do identify conduct that does not come within the scope of the statute. In other words, everything not specifically prohibited by code or statute is legal.

The correct way for the FBI/NICS top evaluate Texas law is to look for a statute that prohibits the purchase of a firearm outside the State of Texas and they would find none.

I listed HB267 in the Bill Status report on the day it was filed, along with links to the text and legislative history.

Chas.

TPC §46.07 wrote:PC §46.07. INTERSTATE PURCHASE. A resident of this state may, if not otherwise precluded by law, purchase firearms, ammunition, reloading components, or firearm accessories in contiguous states.

This sounds like I might have a problem with the order I'm about to make from a business in a non-continuous state...

There's no problem if you have a weapon shipped to a Texas FFL from out-of-state. I've done it more than once.

The potential problem is buying face-to-face from an FFL in a non-contiguous state.

- Jim

That's good to hear... Thanks for clearing that up... I'll post up pics of my soon to be new purchase when it arrives...

Now I'm confused. I thought that portion of the law allowed me to buy, FTF, any firearm that's legal in Texas from any seller in a contiguous state. But reading this thread it appears that it has been legal for me to complete FTF purchases from any seller in any state, as long as FTF purchases to out-of-staters are legal in that seller's state. Is that correct?

So then the purpose of this proposed law is to remove the 'contiguous state' wording from Texas law so that sellers in other states understand that the sale/transfer is not illegal for Texans.

Whew, hope I didn't confuse any others in my attempt to figure this thing out.

Thanks,
t

First off, welcome to the forum.

You're halfway there.

You can legally buy a long gun in any state. NICS in that state might or might not give you a hard time because of the contiguous state wording in Texas law.

You can legally receive a handgun only in your state of residence. That's federal law.

(Just to add to the confusion, not every state uses the FBI for NICS. Some have local agencies. Also, there are exceptions for antiques and inheritances which I'm not saying any more about.)

- Jim

Thanks, Jim.
As you can see, I've been lurking here for quite some time, but I don't post to forums much. I shot my first handgun back
in October '07, so I have much more to learn than I have to contribute.

At any rate, clearly I could have made a big mistake by driving to OK or NM, for example, to pick up a pistol. As I said, I
thought that law allowed me to purchase any gun from any contiguous state. Glad you cleared that up for me.

As for long guns, last time I fired one of those was at basic training back in '65. Must admit, though, they're looking
more interesting to me lately. Might have to try one soon!
t

Other than wasting fuel, if you try to buy a handgun from an FFL in another state, they will just tell you that you can't.

If someone were (hypothetically speaking) to complete a private face-to-face sale in another state, what you don't remember didn't happen, unless the seller is an undercover BATFE agent.

(That is why I recommend obeying the law, even if you disagree with it.)

- Jim