I’m thinking about giving my son-in-law a new shotgun for Christmas. I mentioned this to the guy at the firearm counter of a major sporting goods retailer and he said I can’t do so. He claims that is considered a “Straw Purchase”, a felony.
Is he full of milorganite? In the past, I’ve been given guns as hand me downs. Does the fact that the firearm is new have any bearing?
Its legal to buy the gun and gift it. You the buyer have taken possesion of said gun it is now yours to do as you wish. You did not buy it with another persons money or for a person who cant own one, Its the intent thats looked at. I spoke with my ffa guy. He said staw buy is in place to prevent one person buying gun for another person that cant own a gun. That was from a major gun shop 15 mins ago. So for what its worth thats what he said.
I work as a firearms tech for a retailer and that would work. We do ffl transfers for 40.00. Which means that if Guy A buys a gun and wants to sell it to Guy B, they'd both come in and Guy A would transfer the firearm to us, then when Guy B get's a transfer number from either the state or feds, we'd then transfer to gun to him.
When somebody pays for a gun, but somebody else does the background check, legally it may be ok, but in terms of rules to follow, it's much easier and cleaner if the purchaser is the one doing the background check.
Not if he purchases the gun and fills out the 4473 himself, retaining possession. Then has his son in law fill out a 4473 and pays to have the FFL transfer the firearm. I guess I'm not communicating it approprietly, my fault not yours. Does that make sense?
Your idea is still better though, just give him cash and let him buy the firearm.
That's still a no-no. The purchaser is the person who needs to do the background check. If one person buys and another does the paperwork, that still looks bad.
Best bet? Buy a gift card or give cash in the amount of the gun, let the giftee pay for it and do the check.
technically not legal. Question 11a of the 4473......
"Are you the actual transferee/buyer of the firearm(s) listed on this form?
Warning: You are not the actual transferee/buyer if you are
acquiring the firearm(s) on behalf of another person. If you are not the actual transferee/buyer, the licensee cannot transfer the
firearm(s) to you."
On the opposite end, it's 100% legal to give a firearm as a gift for somebody who's legal to own one.
As Timmer said, purchasing a firearm as a gift is not considered by the ATF as a straw sale as long as it is done properly. However, a recommended way is to provide a gift certificate in the amount to purchase the firearm, that way the background check is being run on the person who is going to actually take position of the firearm.
4Lakes
It is NOT a straw purchase. You can give a firearm as a gift so long as it's legal for the person receiving it and they didn't fund the purchase. On the paperwork you are still buying it for yourself even if the intent is to gift it. However, I've also read somewhere on ATF's website that it recommends in this case to give a gift card/certificate so the recipient does the transfer and background paperwork. That may be an option for you.
I'm an FFL and have no issue with such a purchase as it is legal.
