Quote:
Originally Posted by phillyd2
And then I say that I sold the rifle legally. Case closed. No? If they ask who I sold it to I can also legally say that I don't know / remember. No?
Not trying to cause trouble but I have heard this before and have yet to hear how any can be even remotely held liable or at any risk at all for legally selling a rifle with no paperwork.
I don't mind being proved wrong but so far I see no jeopardy for the seller.
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You can be held liable both civilly and criminally, if they can show negligent entrustment.
I'm more familiar with the civil law in this particular instance. If you violate the law and someone is hurt, your violation is "negligence per se", it's negligent without any additional proof. The converse is not true, meaning that just because you followed the letter of the law that does NOT establish that you exercised all due care. You could always have done more in a FTF deal, for example you could go through an FFL who would run PICS, check ID, make the buyer fill out some forms. A plaintiff's lawyer could easily argue that you just didn't care who you sold to, that you were recklessly indifferent, especially if you kept no records at all.
Criminally, I'm not so sure, but negligence that leads to injuries can be criminal negligence, like handing your car keys to a drunk. Intervening criminal acts dilute your liability, but you're still going to get sucked into the mess.
I'd keep a record of who I sold a gun to, since I'm the last official name in the database. If I sell to A who later sells to B who sells to C, who recently got out of prison and has a grudge against his ex-girlfriend, I'd like to be able to show that it wasn't me who sold to the felon.