Buying a weapon with an expired driver's license

[Night Hides Not]

I've been stymied the past couple of days, in my attempt to purchase a weapon for home defense. The barrier was the fact that my driver's license expired about a month ago, and Texas DMV did not "reopen" until about a week ago.

Reopen, you say?     They are "open", by appointment only, and the first open appointment was July 6th.

I printed out a copy of the letter from Texas DPS, which extends expiration dates until 60 days after the crisis has ended. Well, that wasn't good enough for the store, which I won't name, despite my anger with them.

So I called ATF a couple hours ago, and he gave me the link to the updated guidance from ATF:

https://www.atf.gov/file/56451/download

The guidance is found on page 4:

There has also been some confusion over whether an expired driver’s license can satisfy the GCA requirement. If the law of the State that issued the driver’s license provides that a driver’s license is valid after the expiration date, either for a certain period of time or for a certain category of persons, such as military personnel, then the license qualifies as a valid identification document for GCA purposes for that period of time or for that class of persons. This will not be a common occurrence. If you are not certain of the validity of an expired license in your State, we suggest you contact your State’s Department of Motor Vehicles. If you are still uncertain about the validity and acceptance of an expired license for GCA purposes, contact your local ATF office.

Here's the link for the extension in Texas:

https://www.dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/documents/extndExpDateDL.pdf

I'm taking all of these documents with me on my next visit. O/T, what irks me greatly was the way the two store employees were swearing up and down no guidance existed. I asked them for documentation from ATF to support their claims, and was not surprised when they produced diddly squat.

I understand this is not a common occurrence, unless Covid restrictions continue beyond July. I'm enough of an SOB to go back to that store and give them a copy of the docs, but I'm in too good of a mood: my first granddaughter arrived last night at ten minutes to midnight. Baby and Mom are doing great...not too sure about Dad's condition, though...lol.

Mods, go ahead and move this if you think it's necessary. I hope it's useful to those in the same situation.

[MeganC]

At your first opportunity I recommend getting yourself a US passport as a superior form of ID that is valid for ten years at a time.

[Night Hides Not]

At your first opportunity I recommend getting yourself a US passport as a superior form of ID that is valid for ten years at a time.

Good idea, from what I hear, we're going to need a passport to fly before too long.

I need to do it soon, as part of my planning for going to Oberammergau in 2022 for the Passion Play.

ETA: BTW, I'm also the same Night Hides Not from FreeRepublic...

[EdinVA]

I would take all the documents and ask to speak with the manager/owner.
How does it go... Ignorance of the law is no excuse?

[Night Hides Not]

I would take all the documents and ask to speak with the manager/owner.
How does it go... Ignorance of the law is no excuse?

To close this story, I completed my purchase yesterday at the store closest to my home. After presenting the document from the DMV, the associate said, "that's all I need". I offered the printed guidance from ATF, but he said he didn't want it...he'd known about the guidance when it was issued a month ago.

The manager told me he was going to call that other store, to set them straight.

As a post script, up until about ten days ago, my wife was adamant about not allowing weapons in our house. I went along with it, as it's a quiet neighborhood, and our 'burb is well policed. Then Minneapolis happened, and she found out two of her sisters were packing. After trying out several weapons at a local range, I settled on a Smith & Wesson EZ9, the version with a grip safety, with no manual safety. You have to hold the weapon tightly for it to fire, and no child will be able to exert a strong enough grip to fire it.

Not an issue in our house...our youngest just graduated from HS, and our 9YO grandson has been taught gun safety by his parents and grandparents.

[EdinVA]

 

[verga]

Glad it all worked out. Now get out there and get some training and practice.