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You are asked by a close friend to sell a firearm which belonged to her deceased father. It is an old .22LR rifle, nothing remarkable, not a collectible, etc.

I'm somewhat familiar with straw purchaser prohibitions. Is there any problem being a "straw seller?"

Nope. No problem at all.

I am assuming that you are not a dealer...with that said a straw purchase is only if you believe that the person you are selling to is not legally allowed to buy the gun. Other than that you should be good. You might ask yourself why your friend is asking you to sell it rather than do it themselves.

thunderarms wrote:I am assuming that you are not a dealer...with that said a straw purchase is only if you believe that the person you are selling to is not legally allowed to buy the gun. Other than that you should be good. You might ask yourself why your friend is asking you to sell it rather than do it themselves.

I've known this woman for 35 years, was friends with her first husband and friendly with her second husband. She knows nothing what ever about guns, doesn't know what kind of gun this is, caliber, capacity, where to load it, or anything. She knows I do know something about these things and asked me for assistance.

I don't mind doing this, but want to be confident I am not breaking the law, after 7 decades of responsible, law-abiding, mostly sober living. While I was a lawyer and not inexperienced in reading statutes and rules, I sometimes am surprised how these can be interpreted and enforced where I have little experience. I hate surprises.

JALLEN, you should be good to go. Really, all you are doing is acting as a broker for the owner. You're not selling it, she is. You're merely handling the transaction for her, as her representative.

The Annoyed Man wrote:JALLEN, you should be good to go. Really, all you are doing is acting as a broker for the owner. You're not selling it, she is. You're merely handling the transaction for her, as her representative.

That's the problem with straw purchasers, isn't it?

It's a perfectly legitimate arrangement when dealing with just about any property, but sometimes the rules unexpectedly get goofy when it is a gun.

JALLEN wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:JALLEN, you should be good to go. Really, all you are doing is acting as a broker for the owner. You're not selling it, she is. You're merely handling the transaction for her, as her representative.

That's the problem with straw purchasers, isn't it?

It's a perfectly legitimate arrangement when dealing with just about any property, but sometimes the rules unexpectedly get goofy when it is a gun.

As others have stated you can legally sell for your friend. I would list it here on this forum and sell to someone that can present a current CHL in a face to face. Then you know the buyer is legal to own. Of course that limits buyers. On line sites are another option, but get a little more complicated, i.e. shipped to a FFL who will make the transfer to the buyer and you will have to provide your ID when you ship it.
PM sent.

JALLEN wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:JALLEN, you should be good to go. Really, all you are doing is acting as a broker for the owner. You're not selling it, she is. You're merely handling the transaction for her, as her representative.

That's the problem with straw purchasers, isn't it?

It's a perfectly legitimate arrangement when dealing with just about any property, but sometimes the rules unexpectedly get goofy when it is a gun.

A non-FFL seller cannot knowingly sell a firearm to someone who cannot legally buy it, but that is still not necessarily a straw purchase. A straw purchase is when someone who can legally buy a gun purchases that gun on behalf of a 3rd party who cannot legally purchase that firearm him/herself. Unless you either buy the gun from your friend and in turn knowingly sell it to a 3rd party who is not legally able to purchase it.....or.....you knowingly facilitate her selling it to someone who is buying it on behalf of a 3rd party who is not legally able to purchase it, you're not involved in a straw purchase.

That is why a lot of people on this forum would rather see the buyer's CHL when they are selling a gun - because it is a reasonable assurance that the buyer is legally able to buy the firearm. That still does not guarantee that the buyer isn't going to turn around and sell it to a 3rd party who cannot legally buy it, but you will have at least discharged your obligation to not knowingly sell it to someone who is a straw purchaser.

A straw purchase under federal law is only related to purchasing from an FFL on behalf of another. A recent SCOTUS decision confirmed that you can be convicted even if you're buying from an FFL for someone who IS qualified to buy the gun themselves. But no such obligation exists for a private purchase to be only on your own behalf.

A recent SCOTUS decision confirmed that you can be convicted even if you're buying from an FFL for someone who IS qualified to buy the gun themselves.

So I can't buy a gun as a gift for my daughter even though she is eligible to buy it herself? Or to carry it a step further, I can't buy a gun for my wife to use as a home defense gun? If true, that is outrageous.

miljet wrote:

A recent SCOTUS decision confirmed that you can be convicted even if you're buying from an FFL for someone who IS qualified to buy the gun themselves.

So I can't buy a gun as a gift for my daughter even though she is eligible to buy it herself? Or to carry it a step further, I can't buy a gun for my wife to use as a home defense gun? If true, that is outrageous.

No. You're the first one to bring "gift" into this thread. Buying a gift for someone is allowed and not even close to what is being discussed here.