Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #1
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    Default Can a felon transfer a gun to a non-felon?

    Say a convicted felon has guns which they purchased legally before going to jail and those guns were not taken by the authorities for some unknown reason. Can that person legally transfer them to someone else so that they are no longer in possession of a handgun illegally or do they need to surrender their guns to the proper authorities?

    I know the law states that a felon cannot own or sell a firearm, but can they transfer one if no money changes hands?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Can a felon transfer a gun to a non-felon?

    IANAL, but it appears that it is legal as long as it is done within 60 days of becoming a felon. After that, It does not appear to be legal. If that time has passed, the only option I can see is either allowing a parent/grandparent/child/grandchild/spouse to transfer them to someone else (or store them until such time as rights can be restored) since no paperwork is needed for them to take posession of the firearms.

    § 6105. Persons not to possess, use, manufacture, control, sell or transfer firearms.

    (a) Offense defined.--
    (1) A person who has been convicted of an offense
    enumerated in subsection (b), within or without this
    Commonwealth, regardless of the length of sentence or whose
    conduct meets the criteria in subsection (c) shall not
    possess, use, control, sell, transfer or manufacture or
    obtain a license to possess, use, control, sell, transfer or
    manufacture a firearm in this Commonwealth.
    (2) (i) A person who is prohibited from possessing,
    using, controlling, selling, transferring or
    manufacturing a firearm under paragraph (1) or subsection
    (b) or (c) shall have a reasonable period of time, not
    to exceed 60 days from the date of the imposition of the
    disability under this subsection, in which to sell or
    transfer that person's firearms to another eligible
    person who is not a member of the prohibited person's
    household.

    (ii) This paragraph shall not apply to any person
    whose disability is imposed pursuant to subsection
    (c)(6).
    Please help my Baby Kitties and I avoid being homeless.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Can a felon transfer a gun to a non-felon?

    The smart felon takes all firearms to a local FFL and gets documentation of their disposal.

    Please don't draw any logical conclusions about the paradox of the 'smart felon'...
    He was one of God’s own prototypes—a high-powered mutant of some kind who was never even considered for mass production. He was too weird to live and too rare to die....

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Can a felon transfer a gun to a non-felon?

    Once a prohibited person is outside the window during which he could have legally been in the process of disposing of his firearms (under PA law, it's a "reasonable time", not to exceed 60 days), the guns become contraband in his possession. So he can't "legally" do anything with them.

    As a practical matter, I don't think that the recipient does anything wrong in permanently accepting them, except for this little gem:

    (3)(i) A person commits a misdemeanor of the third degree if he intentionally or knowingly accepts possession of a firearm, other weapon or ammunition from a person he knows is the subject of an active protection from abuse order issued pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108, which order provided for the relinquishment of the firearm, other weapon or ammunition during the period of time the order is in effect.
    (ii) This paragraph shall not apply to:
    (A) a third party who accepts possession of a firearm, other weapon or ammunition relinquished pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108.3; or
    (B) a dealer licensed pursuant to section 6113 (relating to licensing of dealers) or subsequent purchaser from a dealer licensed pursuant to section 6113, who accepts possession of a firearm, other weapon or ammunition relinquished pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108.2.


    So, don't park your buddy's guns for him while his PFA is in effect.

    For a felon, once they are transferred, I don't know why any LEO would track them down through a non-prohibited person, unless they were used in some other crime.

    But the basic answer is that, no, it's not an entirely legal process for a felon to transfer his guns.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Can a felon transfer a gun to a non-felon?

    Wouldn't there be an immediate Federal violation under 18 U.S.C. §922(g) - possession of firearms by felons "(1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; "? There is no time window to 'cure' the possession under the Federal law.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Can a felon transfer a gun to a non-felon?

    Quote Originally Posted by tl_3237 View Post
    Wouldn't there be an immediate Federal violation under 18 U.S.C. §922(g) - possession of firearms by felons "(1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; "? There is no time window to 'cure' the possession under the Federal law.
    I don't know how it's interpreted, but in some cases the defendant is in custody right up until trial, is convicted, and when he's released he may still have guns at home. I don't see how any conviction could be sustained for being in possession as soon as he gets home. In fact, he'd still have some degree of control over the guns while sitting in jail, since he owns them. The law can't punish someone for failing to do the impossible, to divest himself of guns at the moment that a verdict is read while he's standing in the courtroom.

    Here's an interesting discussion of how it applies to a convicted FFL, and it touches on the difference between a conviction and the end of the appeals period:

    http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/wba..._v_douglas.txt
    Last edited by GunLawyer001; November 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 PM.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Can a felon transfer a gun to a non-felon?

    Thanks guys! You answered my question perfectly.

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