BIRD TALK

JUST A NOTE

Our comments on the gun issue woke up every advocate in the CSA, for both sides. Their comments ranged from “they only want a gun to shoot someone” to “how dare they restrict our right to bear arms and defend ourselves.” The following comments, from someone who has obviously had some direct experience with this, are worth repeating.

“In general, non-immigrant aliens are prohibited from possessing or receiving firearms or ammunition in the United States. There are exceptions to this prohibition, including: (1) a non-immigrant alien in possession of a valid hunting license or permit issued by a State within the United States, and (2) a non-immigrant alien in possession of an invitation or registration to attend a competitive target shooting event or sports or hunting trade show sponsored by a national, State, or local organization devoted to the collection, competitive use, or other sporting use of firearms.”

This quote is from the back of Form 6NIA, which is used to import firearms into the U.S. with detailed information and subsequent approval of the ATF. My personal experience has been that, since 9/11, not only do you have to prove residence in a state of the U.S., you must also be a U.S. citizen to purchase firearms directly from a dealer. Your comment that “We know that we can buy a gun easily at the local gun show” is extremely misleading and totally untrue – there may be a few exceptions, but this is not a “fairly simple process.”

Your reference to the ATT (Authorization to Transport) is only required for Canadians to transport restricted or prohibited firearms in Canada and is issued by each province. Generally, for simplicity, this would be required for all hand guns, but there are many non-hand-gun others, too. The individual with registered hand guns would require the registration certificate for each firearm, a valid PAL (Possession and Acquisition License), an approved Form 6 from the ATF and a temporary ATT specifying the location (usually home residence of the hand gun owner) to the border crossing(s) and the approximate dates going and returning from Canada to the U.S. Unless there have been changes of which I am not aware, long guns (rifles and shotguns) would not require the use of an ATT – prohibited firearms would be an exception.

The only other exception for Canadians owning or possessing guns in the U.S. would be those grandfathered owners who met all of the resident requirements prior to 9/11 and who purchased guns legally in the U.S.

Response:
JUST A NOTE