I have a buddy that on stationed with here in NC that lives in VA. He said he was told by one of the dealers in the Chesapeake area that he could not purchase a handgun in VA, because his orders do not put him in VA, but he can't buy a handgun here in NC because he doesn't have an address here(plus the purchase permit requirement).

Is the dealer just blowing smoke or is this guy seriously just out of luck for buying a pistol for the next 4 years?

He maintains FL residency for drivers license /vehicle registration if that matters.

Unfortunately, he must have orders showing a duty station in Virginia or change his residency. Not sure about NC laws.

It's possible (in fact, likely) that he could be considered a VA resident given that he actually resides in VA, even though his DL and registration are from FL. You can actually have more than one "residence" for firearms purchase purposes, depending on where you are actually residing at the time.

The difficulty will be in proving this to the satisfaction of the dealer, but if he has a lease, utility bills, etc. then that might be enough.

This ATF Ruling is somewhat instructive on that issue.

The problem is the Commonwealth, not the Fed.

VSP VCheck manual

V. IDENTIFICATION AND RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
The dealer shall determine residency and verify the prospective purchaser's identity as required in Section B of the SP-65 form by requiring a primary and a secondary form of identification that denote the address of the prospective purchaser. Only the forms of identification listed shall be acceptable to establish identity and residency.

A. Primary ID
The primary form of ID shall consist of a valid photo-ID form issued by a governmental agency of the Commonwealth (residents) or of the prospective purchaser’s home state (nonresidents) that denotes the individual’s name, sex, and date of birth.

B. Secondary Identification
The secondary forms of ID must show an address identical to that shown on the photo-identification form.

That's a no-go for handguns except for .mil personnel stationed in VA.  I agree, it does suck.

I would argue that the VSP's policy is inconsistent with what the VA Code actually says in that regard, to wit:

To establish personal identification and residence in Virginia for purposes of this section, a dealer must require any prospective purchaser to present one photo-identification form issued by a governmental agency of the Commonwealth or by the United States Department of Defense, and other documentation of residence. Except where the photo-identification was issued by the United States Department of Defense, the other documentation of residence shall show an address identical to that shown on the photo-identification form, such as evidence of currently paid personal property tax or real estate tax, or a current (a) lease, (b) utility or telephone bill, (c) voter registration card, (d) bank check, (e) passport, (f) automobile registration, or (g) hunting or fishing license; other current identification allowed as evidence of residency by Part 178.124 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations and ATF Ruling 2001-5; or other documentation of residence determined to be acceptable by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, that corroborates that the prospective purchaser currently resides in Virginia. Where the photo-identification was issued by the Department of Defense, permanent orders assigning the purchaser to a duty post in Virginia, including the Pentagon, shall be the only other required documentation of residence. For the purposes of this section and establishment of residency for firearm purchase, residency of a member of the armed forces shall include both the state in which the member's permanent duty post is located and any nearby state in which the member resides and from which he commutes to the permanent duty post.

That's from HERE

This wall of text is rather confusing, but the way I read it, this guy ought to be able to use his military ID and his orders for NC (if they're "permanent") along with proof of residency in VA. In fact, while the Code above says that if you use a DoD ID then the only other "requirement" is permanent orders for VA ... it does not say you can't use utility bills instead to prove residence.

That last part that I put in italics is important as well.

So he actually lives in Virginia, but is stationed in NC. And I assume he has copies of his PCS orders to that effect. The PCS orders satisfy the federal requirement on residency in NC, but the relevant NC statutes may cause him a problem. Have you talked with a NC dealer about that?

The fact that he is an ACTUAL resident of Virginia would also satisfy the federal requirements, but under VA law a FL drivers license, even if it shows his Virginia address, cannot be used to purchase a handgun in VA.

If he wants to buy a handgun all that bad, he can get a VA drivers license, showing his Virginia address. That will not have any effect on his state income tax status (which is probably why he has a FL drivers license in the first place).

I don't think he needs to do any of that, based on what the Code actually says, assuming his assignment to NC is "permanent." If he has permanent orders to NC, a military ID, and proof that he resides in VA ... he ought to be allowed to buy a handgun in VA.

Yeah, it's very confusing.  Let me call Donna and see what she says.

Please do and let us know. She and the other folks there have always been helpful in sorting out issues like this one.

Thanks for the help guys. I live on nc, but I have purchased long guns in va with my fl dl(that shows my nc address). He hasn't updated his license yet, but he did find out he can buy a pistol here in nc sp long as the sheriff will issue him a purchase permit.

Yeah, but handguns are a different story. They SHOULD be the same as buying a long gun, but sadly not. If wishes were fishes I'd make a fortune selling tartar sauce.

Did you try calling Quantico Tactical?  He might be able to provide some good info since he is retired military and deals with the military on a daily basis.

I have a friend in NC who own a retail shop that does a lot of consignment.  I wanted to buy a gun from his store, but have a VA license.  Simply had him drop the gun off at a VA FFL the next time he came to my town (20 minute drive) and we did the transfer there.  Was really simple to be honest.  See if you can find a place that would do something similar.  If not and the gun is new just order it online and have it shipped to a friendly FFL

I have a pawn shop in town that does any transfer I request for $25.  Even when I had a multitude of lowers being transferred at the same time.