Did I do the right thing?

[PonchatoulaJay]

I had an inquiry today about a pistol I have for sale here on BS. The person wants to buy the pistol from me but is overseas working at the moment and ask me if I would sell the pistol to his son for him. I replied back to him and said NO because I was only going to sell to the actual buyer of the pistol and that the "actual" buyer was going to have to be a Louisiana resident, show me his drivers license and sign a bill of sale. He insists its ok to sell to his son and that his son will sign a bill of sale and lives at the same address.

Now as far as I'm conserned this is against the law because I have first hand knowledge that his son is not going to be the "actual intended owner" of the pistol "straw purchase?". So my question is am I right to refuse the sale of the pistol in this case? What are your thoughts on this situation?

 

[rickwick]

Jay, I certainly don't want you to be uncomfortable with the sale, so it will not be a problem if you don't want to sell under these circumstances. No hard feelings at all.

 

[AustinBR]

Jay, I certainly don't want you to be uncomfortable with the sale, so it will not be a problem if you don't want to sell under these circumstances. No hard feelings at all.

I would say that that answers your question. As to the legality of it, you can sell a firearm to anyone you want (if you do not have an FFL) under your terms. I think there is a law about the person being 18 or over, but I am not sure. I know you can gift a pistol to someone under 18. If you were to sell the pistol to a person's son, it would not be your concern, under my understanding, what was done with it after that.

 

[NOLASHOOTER]

Jay,
Selling on here you must first follow all applicable laws. Second, you have to be comfortable with your sale. If it makes you feel uncomfortable with the circumstances or the person then I say do what your gut tells you. I have met and dealt with some good people on here and don't regret any deals.

 

[Robbie]

Jay, please return my text.

 

[rtr_rtr]

I would say that that answers your question. As to the legality of it, you can sell a firearm to anyone you want (if you do not have an FFL) under your terms. I think there is a law about the person being 18 or over, but I am not sure. I know you can gift a pistol to someone under 18. If you were to sell the pistol to a person's son, it would not be your concern, under my understanding, what was done with it after that.

The concern is that it could be considered a straw purchase. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't count as one, but IANAL

 

[chad]

People buy guns as gifts for husbands/sons/etc all the time. It's a grey area but I think it's only a straw purchase if the person it's going to couldn't legally have bought it themselves.

 

[PonchatoulaJay]

Jay, I certainly don't want you to be uncomfortable with the sale, so it will not be a problem if you don't want to sell under these circumstances. No hard feelings at all.

Thanks guys for thoughts and opinions on the matter. And Rick I apologize that you missed out on the pistol but I just was not comfortable about the transaction. I was not going to use your name, but you decided to reply to the thread so thanks for being understanding and no hard feelings.

 

[rickwick]

No problem at all. Thanks.

 

[Robbie]

I love these kind of thread's!
Great pistol!

 

[TexHound]

The legal issue aside, with the current political climate you never know where there may be a gun-grabbing reporter trying to document the private seller "loophole". That's not how I choose to make headlines. Just my $0.02. Good luck with your sale!

 

[Bosco]

If you ever feel at all unsure about a sale, don't make the sale. Waiting a week or two to sell to the right person is a lot better than doing something illegal and ending up in prison

 

[Cat]

People buy guns as gifts for husbands/sons/etc all the time. It's a grey area but I think it's only a straw purchase if the person it's going to couldn't legally have bought it themselves.

It's grey but that's my understanding how it usually goes. It's moreso an offense if one individual cannot legally purchase and another individual purchases a firearm to avoid legalities with the intent to give to the illegal owner.

But as it is technically written, I believe even a lawful owner buying for another lawful owner can be punishable if so desired by the batfe.

 

[Bill Baldwin]

Federal law does not prohibit one person from purchasing a firearm on behalf of another person, from a private seller. This is assuming that all of the parties involved are not prohibited persons as defined by the 1968 Gun Control Act. The last round of gun control bills that failed to pass in the Senate would have defined that innocent activity as gun trafficking.

State law does not prohibit one person from purchasing a firearm on behalf of another person, from a private seller. This is assuming that the pesons involved aren't prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm under RS 14:95.1

RS 14:95.1.1
Illegally supplying a felon with a firearm

A. Illegally supplying a felon with a firearm is the intentional giving, selling, donating, providing, lending, delivering, or otherwise transferring a firearm to any person known by the offender to be a person convicted of a felony and prohibited from possessing a firearm as provided for in R.S. 14:95.1.

B. Whoever commits the crime of illegally supplying a felon with a firearm shall be imprisoned for not more than five years and may be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars. At least one year of the sentence imposed shall be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

RS 14:95.1.2 applies to ammunition

RS 14:95.1.3

Fraudulent firearm and ammunition purchase

A. It is unlawful for any person:

(1) To knowingly solicit, persuade, encourage, or entice a licensed dealer or private seller of firearms or ammunition to sell a firearm or ammunition under circumstances which the person knows would violate the laws of this state or of the United States.

(2) To provide to a licensed dealer or private seller of firearms or ammunition what the person knows to be materially false information with intent to deceive the dealer or seller about the legality of a sale of a firearm or ammunition.

(3) To willfully procure another person to engage in conduct prohibited by this Section.

"Materially false information" means information that portrays an illegal transaction as legal or a legal transaction as illegal.

But still, it's always best to be comfortable with the transfer.

 

[turboneal]

Federal law does not prohibit one person from purchasing a firearm on behalf of another person, from a private seller. This is assuming that all of the parties involved are not prohibited persons as defined by the 1968 Gun Control Act. The last round of gun control bills that failed to pass in the Senate would have defined that innocent activity as gun trafficking.

State law does not prohibit one person from purchasing a firearm on behalf of another person, from a private seller. This is assuming that the pesons involved aren't prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm under RS 14:95.1



RS 14:95.1.2 applies to ammunition



But still, it's always best to be comfortable with the transfer.

Those of us that are in Afghanistan more than the states appreciate you laying out the CORRECT answer Mr. Baldwin. :-) THANKS!
-Neal