Many of us would love to give a gun as a Christmas gift to a family member or friend. However, with all the different gun laws on the books, which vary from state to state, it’s often easier to just forget the idea than find the information you need to gift firearms legally and properly.
Over the years, I’ve had friends and family members ask me how to gift guns at Christmas time, and I’ve always been reluctant to give them an answer since I haven’t wanted to lead them astray. For those considering gifting a firearm this Christmas, however, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is the go-to place for the correct information on staying within the law.
Note that, according to NSSF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recommends that if you want to give someone a new firearm, rather than going to a gun store, buying it on your and giving it to them, consider purchasing a gift certificate from that retailer and giving it instead. That way your gift recipient can get the exact gun he or she wants, and there’s no question about who is “the actual buyer of the firearm.”
If that’s not your cup of tea, however, the NSSF has plenty of good advice of its own.
“The first question you then must ask is whether the intended recipient can legally own a firearm at all,” the NSSF said in a recently posted guide to gifting firearms. “Remember, you can never under any circumstances transfer a firearm to someone you know—or have reasonable cause to believe—legally can’t own one. That’s a federal felony, so be careful.”
The next question, according to the NSSF, is whether the person who will be receiving the gift can own the gifted firearm where he or she lives.
“With more than 20,000 different gun laws on the books, even the kinds of firearms that law-abiding citizens can own vary from place to place,” the NSSF wrote. “For example, juveniles (under age 18), generally speaking, are precluded by law from possessing a handgun, and some states restrict certain types of firearms and magazine sizes. Check out the ATF website for an overview of local laws or contact your state’s attorney general’s office.”
The report also explained that it is legal to purchase a firearm from a licensed firearm retailer that you intend to give as a gift, but there are some important legal factors to consider.
“There’s no law that prohibits a gift of a firearm to a relative or friend who lives in your home state,” the report stated. “However, whether you purchase a new firearm or want to gift a gun you already own, keep in mind that some states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington State) and the District of Columbia require you to transfer a firearm through a local licensed firearm retailer so an instant background check will be performed to make sure the recipient is not legally prohibited from owning the gun. Maryland, Minnesota and Pennsylvania require a background check for a private-party transfer of a handgun and other specific types of firearms.”
As the report also explained, other states also require the recipient of a firearm to have a specific license or permit before taking possession of a firearm. There are exceptions, so it’s important to carefully check the law of your state or ask your local firearm retailer.
Ultimately, giving the gift of a firearm to a family member or close friend is the ultimate gift of freedom. And navigating the legal process isn’t as difficult as I had always assumed it was. For more information, read the complete NSSF suggestions here. And for additional questions, the ATF website has a lot of answers.
