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Firearm Registration in Texas - Question

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  • Wedge

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    I see from the laws that to buy a handgun in Tx you need a drivers license and you dont have to register it. Great my ? is if you get a conceal to carry permit do you then have to register the gun. Im no criminal but with gun laws getting the way they are im allways concerned about the Gov. coming to take them away in the future. Thank 4 any info. If im wrong about the law please correct me.
     

    Kerbouchard

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    No, there is no registration in Texas, with or without a CHL. The only change that occurs with a CHL is you no longer have to go through the background check when purchasing a firearm. You still have to fill out form 4473, but they treat the CHL as an auto approval.
     

    okie556

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    I see from the laws that to buy a handgun in Tx you need a drivers license and you dont have to register it. Great my ? is if you get a conceal to carry permit do you then have to register the gun. Im no criminal but with gun laws getting the way they are im allways concerned about the Gov. coming to take them away in the future. Thank 4 any info. If im wrong about the law please correct me.

    If you purchase handgun from a licensed fire arm dealer........you will be required to complete the Yellow Form and in fact are registering the gun and the purchase.

    If you buy from an individual.........no paperwork is required.

    Okie556
     

    Shorts

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    I see from the laws that to buy a handgun in Tx you need a drivers license and you dont have to register it. Great my ? is if you get a conceal to carry permit do you then have to register the gun. Im no criminal but with gun laws getting the way they are im allways concerned about the Gov. coming to take them away in the future. Thank 4 any info. If im wrong about the law please correct me.

    If you purchase handgun from a licensed fire arm dealer........you will be required to complete the Yellow Form and in fact are registering the gun and the purchase.

    If you buy from an individual.........no paperwork is required.

    Okie556



    True, the 4473 is a backdoor form of registration. I suppose it all depends on the dealer/FFL holding the paperwork and how it is handled after the fact. I do not know what ATF requires of FFLs in regards to keeping records, audits and those sorts of things. Anyone know?
     

    txinvestigator

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    If you purchase handgun from a licensed fire arm dealer........you will be required to complete the Yellow Form and in fact are registering the gun and the purchase.

    No, it is not registration. The dealer keeps the paperwork and the ATF gets no data on who bought what.

    If the gun is used in a crime and recovered, the ATF can trace the original purchaser by the serial number of the gun. There is no mechanism for the government to learn who purchased a gun.







    I believe the FFLs keep the 4473s forever.

    No Driver License is required to buy a firearm.
     

    Kerbouchard

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    The 4473's, as well as the FFL's logs, are kept forever. At some point in time, it will probably be compiled into a database, and therefore into some sort of registration. That will, of course, only track original purchasers, and until private sales are restricted, the 'registration' will be sorely lacking.

    No, a D.L. is not required, per se, but proof of residence is. A D.L. is the easist way to prove residence.
     

    40Arpent

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    No, it is not registration. The dealer keeps the paperwork and the ATF gets no data on who bought what.

    If the gun is used in a crime and recovered, the ATF can trace the original purchaser by the serial number of the gun. There is no mechanism for the government to learn who purchased a gun.

    I believe the FFLs keep the 4473s forever.

    I was told by one gun retailer here in Houston that they do keep their 4473s forever.

    I agree, it is not "government registration," but with the ATF having carte blanche access to that data, we are not far from it. And it's not like the only time the ATF retrieves 4473s is for a gun used in a crime.
     

    nalioth

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    I believe the FFLs keep the 4473s forever.

    I was told by one gun retailer here in Houston that they do keep their 4473s forever.
    By law, the FFL holder must keep the 4473s for 20 years.

    If they go out of business, all paperwork (20 years old or less) is sent to a warehouse run by the revenuers.


    We don't have registration in Texas, not even with the 4473. All the 4473 is is a record of sale - it has nothing to do with where the gun is now.

    ...unlike California, where private sales are illegal, and every firearm must be accounted for to the state, in the free states, there is no accounting for anything after the original purchase. I believe some states require make, model and serial number of the gun(s) you'll carry to be placed on that state's CHL, as well.


    I'll repeat myself - there is no gun registration in Texas (not even 'back door registration'). At the most, the powers that be will know you bought a gun.
     

    40Arpent

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    All the 4473 is is a record of sale - it has nothing to do with where the gun is now.

    I don't agree that you can make that claim as a blanket statement. At this very moment, there are more than a few guns that can be traced to my home by the information indicated on the 4473 forms at several local dealers. And the ATF has easy access to those forms.
     

    txinvestigator

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    I don't agree that you can make that claim as a blanket statement. At this very moment, there are more than a few guns that can be traced to my home by the information indicated on the 4473 forms at several local dealers. And the ATF has easy access to those forms.

    They cannot be traced to your home. The form simply lists you as the person who purchased the gun from that dealer. You could have sold them, traded them, given them way, or lost them all in a terrible boating accident.
     

    40Arpent

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    They cannot be traced to your home. The form simply lists you as the person who purchased the gun from that dealer. You could have sold them, traded them, given them way, or lost them all in a terrible boating accident.

    How did you know about the boating accident?
     

    95P38RR

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    Wedge

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    Thats my problem damn whales in lake Michigan. One sharp turn and everything goes flying out Thanks for all the info.
     

    Shorts

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    We get that there is no official registration in Texas ;)



    What does exist with a 4473 is the beginning of a paper trail to the original purchaser, as to who might have the gun. At the very least, it pegs all the people who have ever bought a gun. Whether it was for sport or work. Chances are, that gun is not the only gun that person has bought. If that particular gun is not in a person's ownership, different ones might be.

    At the very least you know who is a 'gun person'.


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