IANAL
If you buy a weapon for someone knowing you will receive cash or material for it that is a straw purchase. Gifting a weapon to a person who can't pass a background check is illegal under other laws.
Let's complicate things a little, just for fun ...
An INGO buddy spies a just-gotta-have-it Hi-Point that is advertised in the Classifieds. Buddy is an INGO member and not legally restricted in any way from buying his own guns, but has to work and wants me to go look at it for him before someone else snatches it up. Legally, I could meet the seller, examine the pistol, buy it for myself and then decide on the drive home that I really don't want it (hard to believe about a Hi-Point, I know) and then sell it to my buddy. YOU know and I know that I never intended to purchase it to add to my expansive collection of Hi-Points, but from a legal standpoint, nobody else does. Integrity is the only issue.
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A straw purchase is where someone else is bankrolling the purchase and someone else intends to take possession. A gift isn't a straw purchase because it isn't being bankrolled by the recipient. Someone giving you money to buy a gun for yourself isn't a straw purchase because you are actually purchasing it for yourself.
If you ain't funding it and you ain't keeping it, then you probably shouldn't be filling out the 4473
Disco! Summed it up nicely.Rule of thumb: If any quid pro quo is expected, it's not a gift. Don't do it.
As long as you were not paid for it, there is no legal/ethical issue.I had ethical issues with this myself. I bought a nice 91/30. I then gave it to my buddy for his wedding present (yes, I'm an awesome best man). I was having a bit of a moral issue, however, as I was the buyer and I bought it that day, I decided that I wasn't lying on the form. If I would have resold it, than I would have been fine, as I was the buyer on the form that day. I agree the law gets fuzzy on the issue, however, I ensured I followed all state and federal laws and I know my buddy, at the time of the gift, was a "proper person" (although,a s a friend of mine, I don't know if that is a good distinction ).
Let's complicate things a little, just for fun ...
An INGO buddy spies a just-gotta-have-it Hi-Point that is advertised in the Classifieds. Buddy is an INGO member and not legally restricted in any way from buying his own guns, but has to work and wants me to go look at it for him before someone else snatches it up. Legally, I could meet the seller, examine the pistol, buy it for myself and then decide on the drive home that I really don't want it (hard to believe about a Hi-Point, I know) and then sell it to my buddy. YOU know and I know that I never intended to purchase it to add to my expansive collection of Hi-Points, but from a legal standpoint, nobody else does. Integrity is the only issue.
Stepping up the game, let's say that a LGS is having a giant sale on quality Hi-Points this Saturday, and my buddy can't go because he has to work. Sucks to be him. I go to the LGS and fill out the 4473, attesting that I am the actual buyer and not buying the firearm for another person. At that point in time, I am. However, after leaving the store and contemplating my purchase on the drive home, I think of my buddy and wonder if he might be interested in buying it from me. Again, integrity is the issue.
And to complicate things further, how would those scenarios differ from the hobbyist or collector who actively buys and sells guns for profit? Every gun purchased with the intent to resell could be considered a straw purchase.
I can't disagree with any of the comments above, but do see the issue as a legally fuzzy one at times. About the only time that such a purchase would be an issue is if the intent to purchase and sell to another is if the recipient was NOT legally allowed to purchase the gun for himself. Kind of a no-brainer, IMO.
That's where you're wrong - Buddy knows
If it's you they're after, for whatever reason, and they have some leverage on Buddy, he will testify that you were there on his behalf.
The way it was explained to me....
The prosecuting attorney must be able to prove your intent. I doubt many straw purchaser cases are brought to trial where someone buys a gun for their buddy (who is legally allowed to have a firearm) who hands them some cash later, it would be hard to prove that you bought it with the intention of selling it. If you did this frequently a pattern could be established and it could be proven. One time though, who's to say you bought it and didn't change your mind and your buddy happened to want it. Don't tell everyone you are buying it for someone else. The only person who would know that, is you or your buddy, and as long as your not incriminating yourself it's your word against his, a good lawyer would keep you out of trouble. (Why are you buying a gun for a buddy you can't trust anyway? Add to that wouldn't he be incriminating himself by admitting he asked you to buy him the gun?)
^^That is a whole ethical/moral/legal ball of worms, not condoning any of it. Just stating what I was told how it would be viewed in the eyes of the law. Law is written to be complicated and interpreted for a purpose^^
A gift is allowed for if you read the wording on the 4473, "you are the actual purchaser of the firearm", you purchased it, and then gave it as a gift (just don't give it to a felon). I doubt many dad's have been put on trial for buying their kid their first hunting rifle either...