It started with a change to "Ship or Transfer"

[MegaFan]

This is listed under UNLICENSED PERSONS question and answer ATF site.

May a person who resides in one State and owns property in another State purchase a firearm in either State?
If a person maintains a home in 2 States and resides in both States for certain periods of the year, he or she may, during the period of time the person actually resides in a particular State, purchase a firearm in that State. However, simply owning property in another State does not alone qualify the person to purchase a firearm in that State.

Yep, which is exactly why I am asking. It goes a step further and gives an example of such a condition, including those people that are "residents" on the weekends and/or summers, which is my case. I am in Alabama as I type this, at my weekend home, and I even get a substantial break on my county taxes because this is my second home. Thanks for reposting what I stated in the opening query.

 

[MegaFan]

THIS!

Instead of trying to interpret all the crazy ATF rules, just have him ship it to your favorite FFL and go pick it up there.

The transfer might cost $20 or so, but it’s cheap insurance for knowing that you did everything 100% legally.

@BangBang, I get it, but I am thinking beyond a single deal because I have not done some deals in the past for these reasons. I have owned a second "weekend" home since 1996 and an Alabama business for 8 years. I plan to retire in Wedowee, but that may be a few more years. I am a "facts" and "right to know" kind of person, and skipping this deal is irrelevant to knowing and understanding the law. I suppose this is a bigger deal for me than most because my Georgia county borders Alabama, and only a 30-minute drive from home to home, similar to lots of you trading in a 30-minute radius of Athens or Marietta.

 

[GoNoGo]

This is directly from the back on the current form 4473 in the section Question 2 clarifying what the buyer's residence is.. and it's definitely referring to common civilians :

Unfortunately most gunstore FFL's won't follow federal law and sell you a firearm if your state-issued ID isn't in "their" state, that's why you need a State issued ID card from your "part time residence" state. Legal to have and looks just like a DL, and you must meet same number of points of identification requirements to obtain one, just like re-newing your DL in GA (SS card, passport, utility bills in your name in that state, mailing address in that state, etc).

 

[Kahrnut]

Get a green card.

 

[MegaFan]

Seriously, if you want a possibly reliable answer call the BATF. They may be involved in the prosecution, not a bunch of Monday quarterbacks on the internet.

For the record, I called Atlanta ATF first thing this morning. It took several discussions to actually get an answer, and I have the name of the person to whom I discussed my specific situation. Although they "encourage" all transactions to be through an FFL for "traceability and to maintain an updated database of gun ownership via the Form 4473", when I am in Alabama on the weekends, where I maintain a second residence, I am considered an Alabama resident. For me, personally, this makes a big difference in being able to legally do a deal in my adjoining state. This is assuming, of course, that the Alabama person selling to me is willing to accept that I maintain dual residency (by the Gun Control Act and ATF interpretations) without providing any evidence of my in-state residency.

Therefore, I will close by saying, every situation is different, so always understand your specific situation.