Is it a straw purchase if person A pays you for a pistol and you transfer to B?

[Xringshooter]

^^^^ No, not a straw purchase, he was buying a gift for you (perfectly legal from father to son) and yes you can legally gift a firearm, even a handgun, to someone under 18, there are just restrictions on the carry/use of the firearm (they have to be with a parent or guardian to shoot it and they just can't carry it around like a 21 year old can).

The law says a person under 21 cannot buy a handgun from a FFL. The law also says that an 18 year old can buy a handgun from a private party but when buying the handgun PA law says it has to be transferred at a FFL OR Sheriff Department (but FFL won't do a 18 yr old because technically they are buying from a FFL because the handgun has to go into the FFL's books before the transfer is done and you would be hard pressed in PA to find a Sheriff to do this, even though they are supposed to do this function.)

Just because someone knows beforehand that they are purchasing a firearm (long arm or handgun) to give/gift to another person doesn't make it a straw purchase, even if the person, in this case a minor, cannot buy it themselves. You have to look at the complete picture before you say straw purchase or not.

Dad is buying a firearm to give to his son, but doesn't know that son did something that makes him prohibited (I know far fetched but not necessarily uncommon), not necessarily a prosecutable straw purchase because Dad really did not know. This argument would need a good lawyer to do this defense. Son could do jail time as a prohibited person accepting a firearm.

Dad is buying a firearm to give to his son, but does know that son did something that makes him prohibited, but does it any way, STRAW PURCHASE - Dad goes to jail for straw purchase, son could go to jail for possessing a firearm he is not allowed to possess.

Dad is buying a firearm (handgun) to give to his son as a graduation present, but son is 16 years old and graduated from HS early (smart kid). Not a straw purchase as long as Dad tells son, "this is yours, I'll keep it in the gun safe and we'll go together when you want to shoot it and when you turn 18 it will physically be yours to do with as you wish" It's straw purchase if Dad buys gun and just hands it to son saying "Here you go boy, don't do anything stupid with it."

A FFL doesn't typically run into the obscure straw purchase or not straw purchase. Most are pretty cut and dried - young man and young woman (or another man), man points out gun and has woman/man buy it and do the paperwork. Or even a man and wife and man picks out gun and wife does the paperwork - this should raise the eyebrows and get the spidey sense going of a FFL who has been in business for a while.

But you still have to have the full story to determine Straw purchase or not. That said, even if the story is legit, if a FFL does not feel comfortable about doing the transfer, he has the right to say no. If the buyer says then send it to XYZ gun shop, he can charge the buyer for shipping and he has a clear conscience.

Long winded post, yes, sorry, but determining a straw purchase is not always easy to do.

[GeneCC]

I just had someone on this board message me about a pistol wanting to lay for it and have the transfer go to someone else. He argued and threatened me with a bad rating when I told him no. Was he attempting a straw purchase?

If I start the layaway process but someone else buys the handgun it's in their name.

If they legally transfer the pistol to me then it's not a straw purchase. Why someone would do this I don't know, but people have their reasons.

If they give me the pistol without a transfer then it's a straw purchase.

[GeneCC]

Ironically, last night's Blacklist episode was based on straw purchases. The subject was a young woman buying lots of 30 of the cheapest handguns at a time (they didn't call them High Points though) and the gun mfg company went by the letter of the law, ignoring the signs. Reddington shot the owner of the company for his closing scene. It wasn't the Blacklist I've come to know and love but it was watchable.

I had to go look this show up. Reddington is confessed criminal who structures a deal that he'll be a domestic James Bond. He already broke faith with the system, why would they trust him? Why wouldn't they burn him when it was useful? A life on the run wouldn't equip him to handle this stuff, he wouldn't be doing it professionally. Any FBI person who trusts him has rocks in their head.

Of course he's going to fulfill the fantasy of Hollywood, murdering the owner of a "Ring of Fire" company.

The producer of this show is Davis Entertainment and Universal Television. They have to hew to the Party Line. Guns are bad, 'mkay?

Ain't busting on you, Walleye, I am busting on TV shows. Why they can't do something useful, say, talking about a cancer researcher or detective seeking child predators? Guess that's not sexy.