Need advice on selling handgun

[Hershmeister]

Exactly

[Guest carter]

well the only piece of paper with your name and a serial number would be the FFL u bought it from... TBI purges there system like every 14 days or so... so, if your firearm is used in a crime and found some where... no one would know where you bought it from and track it back to you... thats why the big "D's" are trying to pass gun registration bills and such...

[Patton]

But the ATF knows(can find out) who bought it new. The ATF does occasionally visit gun shops to see who's bought what. I've seen it happen.

[Guest TankerHC]

The only requirement under the GCA is that you reasonably believe the buyer is legally authorized to own a firearm. This is what I do, unless I know the person specifically I straight out ask "Your not a convicted felon are you, your legal to own a firearm "and I make sure they are of legal age if that is questionable".

Right off the ATF website under a question that is the same your worried about [b]"A person may sell a firearm to an unlicensed resident of his State, if he does not know or have reasonable cause to believe the person is prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms under Federal law". [/b]

Ask the guy if he is legal. If he says yes, then you have no reasonable cause to believe he is not (Unless your so worried that you want to run a background check). lol

[monkeylizard]

IMO, I can't see how a BOS does anything more for you legally than a verbal declaration.

 

It gives you ironclad guarantee that you met the legal requirements and can assist the popo if needed.
 

 

What legal requirements are those? All that's required is that you don't have reason to believe that the buyer can't legally own it, don't suspect a straw purchase, and they're a TN resident.

I wouldn't use "ironcald" to describe a BOS, or anything else printed off the Internet. If you want "ironclad" do it via FFL. Nothing short of that comes close.

 

Exactly

 

 

Hershmeister, I'm confused. You said a BOS gives you an ironclad guarantee, then you agree with me that a BOS isn't ironclad.

 

Which is it?

[Hershmeister]

Meant exactly to your first paragraph

[Guest TankerHC]

I have spoken to ATF about private Bills of Sale for a firearm. Subject came up when a couple of friends decided that to buy a handgun from them you would need to sign a Bill of Sale. Bills of Sale by private individuals have absolutely no legal bearing when it comes to firearms and the GCA. When you sell a firearm, do whats required and are sure (To the best of your ability) that the buyer is legal, then you have met the requirements. Dont, and no BOS is going to save you from the law.

[DaveTN]

I have spoken to ATF about private Bills of Sale for a firearm. Subject came up when a couple of friends decided that to buy a handgun from them you would need to sign a Bill of Sale. Bills of Sale by private individuals have absolutely no legal bearing when it comes to firearms and the GCA. When you sell a firearm, do whats required and are sure (To the best of your ability) that the buyer is legal, then you have met the requirements. Dont, and no BOS is going to save you from the law.

If the Police, ATF, or attorneys are involved; everything has legal bearing.

 

Age and proof of state of residence is a given. Get that wrong and you have legal problems. Whether or not they are a criminal is not so clear cut. We have no way to do a background check, so a BOS shows you did all you could (as long as the BOS addresses that). They would need to prove you knew someone was a criminal, selling to a family member that you know is a convicted felon for example.

[Guest TankerHC]

If the Police, ATF, or attorneys are involved; everything has legal bearing.

 

Age and proof of state of residence is a given. Get that wrong and you have legal problems. Whether or not they are a criminal is not so clear cut. We have no way to do a background check, so a BOS shows you did all you could (as long as the BOS addresses that). They would need to prove you knew someone was a criminal, selling to a family member that you know is a convicted felon for example.

 

A bill of sale doesnt mean anything, if you sell a gun to someone not authorized to own one, knowingly, a BOS isnt going to do you one iota of good. If you sell one to someone unknowingly, then a BOS doesnt matter, because it isnt required by law.

 

Should note, the ATF reccomends if your buying or selling from a stranger, a Bill of sale is recommended, just for location purposes, it still wont save your a/z/z

Edited December 14, 2012 by TankerHC

[Guest ebidr]

Wow, I started this thread and so many responses. So, tanker, what will save your a..? A FFL transaction then? I think its just around $30. The only negative thing, would I have to carry around the FFL receipt showing I sold the gun for the rest of my life?

[Patton]

Your probably way over thinking this. The FFL is required to keep those records. If you are really that concerned you could audio record the message and save on a external storage or save in a email. I went and did a knock and talk with the ATF once about a guy . It turned out the gun in question exchanged hands about a dozen times in a few years. They never would say why they were so intrested. They did ask the guy if he had a bill of sale but he didn't. The ATF didn't seam too surprised. The ATF was excited to get copy's of the emails which included the guys phone number.
Oh and they didn't talk to the guy like a criminal, aggressively interrogate, or read him his rights. If I were a betting man I would say they were probably trying to figure out how someone came into possession that probably wasn't supposed to have one. Edited December 14, 2012 by Patton