ethics question involveing a pistol

[chrmm22sr]

Ok not sure where to put this but it involves a pistol so I put it here feel free to redirect me


ok well I like most on here buy guns almost constantly in turn I sometimes need to sell a gun or two I dont need or use but anyway I had a handgun on a different site a person from philadelphia contacted my email about buying this handgun face to face with no paper work in other words ILLEGALLY my question is do you think I should turn the email in to police or leave it alone and why:?

[chrmm22sr]

Also let me be clear im not saying this person is a criminal they may just not understand the laws......Dont want to slander a misguided person

[bubba15301]

just tell him the sell has to go thru a ffl

[chrmm22sr]

that is what i did just feel like i should have done guys like that trying to illegally buy guns give all gun owners a bad name and can cause sites to shutdown

[GunLawyer001]

The statute places the burden of a transfer on the seller, not the buyer. You refused to commit a crime here, so you're good so far.

It's a separate crime for a prohibited person to possess a firearm, but you don't have evidence of that. All you have is evidence that someone tried to persuade you to commit a crime. They may be paranoid about paper trails, but it's more likely that they wouldn't be able to complete a handgun purchase through a PA FFL. All that's certain is that they asked YOU to commit a definite crime.

If you want to take that information to the police, I see nothing wrong with it, but I doubt that the police will want to pursue the matter, unless they additionally know that the would-be buyer is a prohibited person.

Police try to entrap people into such sales all the time. Felons and other prohibited persons may also troll classified ads, Web forums, yard sales and flea markets, because those are the only places where they can obtain ANY guns; you'd commit a crime if you sold any handgun to anyone privately, and the prohibited persons still commit a crime whenever they buy a shotgun or rifle, it's just that the state doesn't micro-manage these sales. But if they're caught by a landlord, or their ex-wife calls the cops about their arsenal, or there's a fire and they find the smoldering remains of his guns, he'll be prosecuted.

[RHGregory3]

Yeah, I'd just tell him it has to go through a legit FFL

I'm TOLD (maybe incorrectly) that undercovers do attempt
to purchase firearms illegally occasionally as well. Probably best to steer this gentleman in the way of the FFL and say goodbye :-D

[hertz]

I second what others have said, just tell the buyer you must meet at an FFL and do a proper transfer. If they refuse, ignore them.

[bripro]

While we're on the subject.......If one was to sell a long gun privately which does not need to go through a ffl how does he know the buyer is not prohibited? I know some sellers want to see a ltcf but that of course is not required to own a long gun. I have thought about selling some shotguns and rifles but just used them as trades at a local shop because the thought of guns registered to me but not in my possesion doesnt sound like a good thing.

[Grumpa72]

While we're on the subject.......If one was to sell a long gun privately which does not need to go through a ffl how does he know the buyer is not prohibited? ...

How about a bill of sale with a valid photo ID. No ID? No sale.

[chrmm22sr]

yeah I thought it might have been a law enforcement officer thanks guys i feel much better