Gun Laws

This is a very controversial post most likely, and that's fine with me, everyone has their opinions and I do understand where they are coming from, but I have mine as well, and I will hold them more dearly (to be quite frank). Although, I am open for comments. At any rate...I went and got my concealed firearms permit (concealed carry, whatever you choose to call it) about a month ago. At this point, I freely admit that I have no idea about guns, and will not be packing one around, or even having it loaded at my home anytime soon. However, in the future, once I have some more education on the gun safety subject, I would like to be able to defend myself and my home. Don't worry, I'm not a nut (you can all have your own opinions on that as well)....Well, in order to learn gun safety and learn to shoot and handle one properly, I would need the tool, and so I set out to purchase a handgun. I began talking with people who owned them, researching on the internet and all that good stuff. I picked out the gun that I wanted and I went to the store to purchase it. I still have an Ohio driver's license (I am a student and not working, and so that is legal, although I am well aware that if I am to get a job, I will need to change my driver's license to Utah within 60 days). With that said, my CCP is from Utah (I was here to take the class, and Ohio and Utah have "reciprocity" with each other's permits...that means they share gun laws as far as concealed carry and they allow those permits to stand in a legal situation as lawful in both state.) So I begin to fill out the paperwork and then it is realized that although my CCP is Utah, my license is Ohio, and therefore I cannot by a handgun in any state but Ohio. (this does not matter for long guns, if anyone was wondering, as they fall under a different category and can be purchased in any state. Why you ask? what is the difference? no clue.) So, I cannot buy the gun, and I leave the store frustrated but assuming that I will go home over thanksgiving (I was going anyway) and purchase one in Ohio and bring it back on the plane. Don't worry, I then checked into all those legalities, and you are allowed to have a gun in you baggage the regulations are as follows: you must have no ammunition in the gun itself, it must be declared at check-in and you must then have the TSA rep. come over and open the chamber so that they can verify there is no ammunition in the gun. You then place the gun back in its case, and sign a "empty chamber verification" paper. At this point you put your TSA approved gun locks on your case (they can be purchased at any firearm store), take the key with you, and put the gun along with the waiver into the baggage and you are set. As far as bullets, you are allowed to have them in your bag as well, just not in the gun case, and they have to be arranged in a case as they would have come from a manufacturer. Now, each airline has a bit different of a policy on it (particulars about how many and how much they can weigh per person per bag), but this is the generality, and my particular carrier was Delta, and I had checked all those out.
Well, now I just had to get to Ohio and buy the gun I wanted. Well, it turns out that they did not have the gun I wanted in my area, nor could they order it in time for thanksgiving, and blah, blah, blah. So my next move was to call the ohio attorney general's office and ask how I can purchase a handgun in Utah given my situation. This lead to calling the highway patrol, the bureau of criminal investigations, my local sheriff's office in ohio, and so on and so on until after speaking with 12 different law officials between the states of Utah and Ohio I finally spoke with a lovely man at the Attorney General's office in Utah and he was in charge of gun laws. I explained my situation, and his answer was that if I could get my Utah I.D. card (which would not void my ohio residency preference for future graduate applications), I could purchase the hand gun in Utah. Well, so then I had to call the License Bureau in Utah and discuss with them exactly what getting this ID card would require. I had all of these things (photo ID, bills sent to my address as proof of residency, transcripts, etc.) I walk into the DMV and am told at the front that I need my social security card. Well, unfortunately that is nicely tucked away in a safe in my room in Ohio, and therefore a no go. At this point, I am told I can go to the Social Security Administration building and get a verification with other things which I have (who even knew these places existed?). So I proceed to the soc.sec.adm. bldg. to find a two hour wait, and we won't even get into the lovely people I meet in the waiting room there. At any rate, get that little temporary piece of paper which basically took me telling the man at the desk my SSN and walking out the door. I now go back to the DMV and get my ID card.
I call the store that had the gun as of two days ago, and now that I can buy it, of course it has been sold. I now decide on another gun (a little heavier and a bit longer barreled so there is less recoil)and no one in Orem has the gun in stock. So, I call the place in orem to see if they have it in any neighboring stores. It turns out they do, in Midvale. I call Midvale, it was true, they do have it, and so I put it on hold. I now go to Midvale store, pick up my gun, fill out the paper work, present my Utah ID card, and think I'm going to get the gun. But, that would have been way to simple. So, he calls the BCI for a background check and three minutes later gets a phone call back saying that they need to speak with me (you should have seen his face, probably thinking i was a serial killer or something of the sort). I answer the phone and they ask if I am who I say I am (sure, why not, that's pretty secure), and then proceed to tell me that I need a copy of all my transcripts from utah state in the time I attended. I respond calmly explaining that I do not have those, but can get them if they would like, however the Utah attorney general's office said that I did not need them. She is perplexed on the other end of the line, and tells me to wait a minute (more like ten) and then asks a few more questions about university ID's, rental contracts, etc. I respond in roughly the same manner as the first question response and I am asked to wait again (this time only about two minutes). After the hold, she comes back on to let me know that she checked with her supervisor (thank goodness someone knows what's going on), and he said that the Utah ID was all that was needed. (Really? that's funny, because, that is what I said at the beginning), so now I am cleared and i finally have my gun. wow, you prob don't care, but just had to vent. oh ya, and if you're in the business of purchasing a gun anytime soon I am now well versed on all the gun laws and bylaws as well as all the intricacies of gun slang ,make and models if you need some help or advice.