Straw purchase, or gift?

[22_Shooter 1,560]

[VanKiller 322]

The "Rule of thumb" as explained to me by Agent John Gilford of ATf years ago, is an immediate family member can buy a firearm for someone else without a problem as long as both of them can legally own a gun. ie; Father for son. Form is still marked yes as to being the actual buyer of the firearm.

 

Really it comes down to ......."What's your FFL worth?"

 

You're all usually much better off to have the girlfriend do her own paperwork........just a lot easier than playing the "strawpurchase" lottery........

[misterpugsly 0]

I ran into a situation that seems to indicate otherwise. An ATF agent is a highly knowledgeable source, but I had a different experience.

 

I took my wife to get a 22 revolver at the biggest gun store in the Pittsburgh area, a place that does a lot of business. When they saw that her driver's license had expired (by a week), they would not accept it as ID for the purchase. When I asked if I could buy it for her, the guy there became very upset and said that straw purchases were illegal, and that he was unwilling to lose his FFL for me, and that he would not sell me a firearm that day under any circumstances since I had suggested doing so. He didn't actually throw me out, but it was close to that.

 

My wife had not realized her license had expired, so it was good that she found that out. But the experience was such a bad one she lost interest in getting a 22, and in target shooting in general.

[RockHoundTX 10]

I am fairly positive that Wikipedia is wrong in this case. The filling out of the 4473 is a separate issue from a Straw Purchase. In a private transaction (where no 4473 is required), there is absolutely no law that prohibits a friend/wife/etc picking up a firearm for me. It is NOT a strawman purchase since I am legally allowed to own the firearm. It only becomes a straw purchase if the person who ultimately gets the firearms is not legally allowed to own the item (felon, under age, etc.).

 

As for filling out the 4473, I agree that most FFLs won't sell to a wife/husband but in most cases that is just a CYA. Here in Texas we are a community property state. Therefore, 1/2 of anything I buy belongs to my wife and vice-versa. She can legally say "yes, I am the buyer" whether she ultimately shoots it or not. One FFL I used to use would allow her to pick up fire-arms and another I used would not. It was their business so the fact that it was legal really did not matter in the argument.

[elvis christ 451]

If you're buying a firearm as a gift, you would not be lying when you checked yes on "I am the buyer of this firearm." You are in fact the buyer of the gun. It's your money, and you're buying it with said money. It doesn't ask what you're going to be doing with the gun later on. That's my take on it.

[forceflow17 16]

If someone sells a firearm in a private sale, how do they go about notifying the ATF that they sold it?

[nalioth 405]

Wikipedia is often wrong.

 

Do not depend on them for critical information.

 

 

 

If you purchase a firearm with the intention of gifting it, you are fine. This usually means the recipient has no idea what's coming their way.

 

If someone asks you to buy it for them (whether they're legal to own it or not), you're entering troubled waters (as you'll be perjuring yourself on the 4473).

[22_Shooter 1,560]

Thanks for the info fellas. I think I know which route to go now.