Chapter 13 Getting a Gun Permit

"Carter, it might be a bit difficult for you to get a gun permit. According to the Firearms Control Act, guns cannot be sold to children under 21 years old."

The next day, inside the Douglas City Police Station, Captain Carlos, in charge of licensing, looked at Carter with a troubled expression. In such small American towns, the circles were incredibly small.

Carlos knew Carter, and after hearing about Carter's summer travel plans, he sympathized with Carter's need for a weapon for self-defense. But legal restrictions were in place, and as a law enforcer, Carlos couldn't openly entertain any crooked ideas.

"Uncle Carlos, the Firearms Control Act's gun sales provisions are for firearm dealers with sales licenses. This doesn't have much to do with gun permits, right? I just want to apply for a gun permit, not to buy a gun, isn't that right?"

Seeing Carlos's troubled expression, Carter chuckled. He dared to come to the police station to apply for a gun permit because he had researched the relevant information beforehand. It was 1979, so the United States was still following the Firearms Control Act enacted in 1968.

Leaving aside the historical struggle of American gun control laws, just looking at this Firearms Control Act enacted ten years ago, Carter saw many loopholes. For example, this law prohibits interstate gun purchases and prohibits firearms dealers from selling guns to eight categories of people, including mentally ill individuals, minors, and those with criminal records. But please note, these are provisions for firearms dealers!

Furthermore, buying guns from gun shops these days doesn't require any background checks. As long as you don't foolishly admit to having a problem, gun shops don't actually check you. Besides, they don't even have the authority to check you now. The background checks required when buying guns at any gun shop in the future, the Form 4473 that needs to be filled out, that system was established after the Brady Act of 1993.

The most important aspect of the Brady Act was authorizing the FBI to establish a nationwide instant criminal background check system and enabling this system to enter various firearm stores. When a gun buyer completes the application form, the Form 4473, the clerk will enter the information from the application into the system, and then they will receive one of three results: "Proceed," "Delayed," or "Denied." Only with a passed background check can firearms be sold to the buyer.

In other words, buying guns now is basically a cash-and-carry affair, no matter who you are. Even in the future, states in the southern United States are among the most gun-friendly states. For example, in Georgia, in the future, there won't even be a requirement for a gun permit or firearm registration for gun owners; you can openly carry. The only strict rules are for handguns, requiring a concealed carry permit and prohibiting the pointing of guns at people.

If this is the case in the future, it's even more so now. Indeed, as soon as Carlos heard Carter's words, he understood. Yes, the Firearms Control Act only applies to firearm dealers, so what does it have to do with issuing permits at their own police station? Their police station's firearms couldn't be sold to Carter either! And even if Carter wasn't planning to travel out of state, he didn't really need a gun permit because Georgia didn't care about it at all; openly carrying a gun wasn't a problem.

"Well, you're quite a smart kid. Come with me, let's fill out the application form. I suggest you apply directly for a concealed carry permit, as handguns are often much more convenient than rifles. You just need to undergo an eight-hour short training, and here in Douglas, this is usually handled by our police department. Of course, there's a small fee for this."

With a decision in mind, Carlos's attitude immediately changed. Leading Carter to fill out the application form, Carlos began enthusiastically promoting. The fee for the application, and the fee for the training, a portion of that would go to the officer responsible for teaching!

"No problem, how much do I owe you? Also, Uncle Carlos, can I trouble you to teach me how to use the gun again? I'll pay for the ammunition."

"The training fee isn't high, $40 for the application fee, and $35 for the training. Ammunition is also not a problem; after you fill out the form, we'll head to the backyard. I'll tell you, I have plenty of free time now!"

Seeing this deal go from a single transaction to multiple transactions, Carlos's enthusiasm increased further. Before Carter finished filling out the application form, Carlos hurriedly went to the police station's armory and brought out a brand-new M1911 pistol and five boxes of ammunition. If it weren't for the fact that the police station's weapons were registered assets, Carlos would have sold the gun together!

When Carlos returned, Carter had just finished filling out the form. Happily pocketing the money Carter handed him, Carlos spoke as they walked:

"Carter, didn't Chris teach you how to use a gun at home before?"

"No. Uncle Carlos, as you know, most of the time I was studying diligently at school. After Mrs. Mary came, I couldn't even finish my homework, where would I have time to learn how to use a gun?"

Carter shook his head, pushing open the back door of the police station. The backyard of the Douglas City Police Station was a simple shooting range. It was usually deserted, and aside from some people coming to the police station to take the gun test, the officers hardly ever used this range.

Even though the range was empty and unusually quiet, Carter felt as though he had stepped into a lively nightclub. A gun! A real gun!!

Taking the gun from Carlos, Carter immediately felt its weight. The small pistol was heavier than it looked, but the weight was manageable for Carter. Raising it and aiming at the target, Carter didn't find it too difficult.

Although Carter's body looked somewhat slender and he didn't have the habit of exercising regularly, he was still a 16-year-old boy, not incapable of lifting a gun.

But when Carlos finished teaching him how to disassemble and maintain the gun and they moved on to live ammunition shooting, Carter realized how naive he had been.

When the .45 pistol cartridge was ignited, Carter only felt a sudden loud bang in his ears, followed by a violent shake in his hands. Even though Carter had focused all his attention and exerted all his strength to grip the gun handle, he still couldn't control the sudden jerk.

A second later, the gun barrel remained stable, still pointing steadily at the target. Embarrassingly, the target paper remained intact, not even a bullet hole, let alone scratching the edge.