Buying a gun for someone who isn't 21

1937 Views 9 Replies 5 Participants Last post by GeneticsDave, May 21, 2008

ndavis2008

Discussion Starter · May 20, 2008

Now I know that if you buy a gun for someone who can't buy one themselves you could face up to 10 years in prison. My thing is that my brother-in-law wants a handgun, but can't get one himself because he is only 19. Can I legally buy him a handgun? Or does he have to wait until he turns 21? I want to buy him one so we can go shooting, but I would like it to be in his name. If I can or can't buy him a gun, please help me know why or if it is just that he isn't 21 then that is fine. Any feed back would be great, plus the laws supporting your statements. Thanks in advance.

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GeneticsDave

· #2 · May 20, 2008

According to USC (United States Code) you can buy a firearm for him and gift it to him so long as you are not receiving money in exchange. You must also know that he has a clean record without any criminal charges, does not use illegal drugs, is not an illegal alien, has not been dishonorably discharged, etc. You can read more in Title 18 of the code, chapter 44, section 922, specifically parts (b)(1) and (d).

On a side note, he would be able to purchase a firearm from a private owner on his own, which may be a smarter option as it eliminates you from the loop and absolves you from any responsibility.

As far as I know, there is no way to have you purchase the firearm but have it under his name. That is in essence a straw purchase and is illegal. If you gift the firearm to him, the registration and paperwork will still be under your name.

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Car Knocker

· #3 · May 20, 2008

Here's a relevant Utah statute:

76-10-527. Penalties.
(1) This section shall apply only to a handgun until federal law requires the background check in Section 76-10-526 to extend to other firearms at which time this section shall also apply to those firearms.
(2) A dealer is guilty of a class A misdemeanor who willfully and intentionally:
(a) requests, obtains, or seeks to obtain criminal history background information under false pretenses; or
(b) disseminates criminal history background information.
(3) A person who purchases or transfers a firearm is guilty of a felony of the third degree who willfully and intentionally makes a false statement of the information required for a criminal background check in Section 76-10-526.
(4) A dealer is guilty of a felony of the third degree if the dealer willfully and intentionally sells or transfers a firearm in violation of this part.
(5) A person is guilty of a felony of the third degree who purchases a firearm with the intent to:
(a) resell or otherwise provide a firearm to any person who is ineligible to purchase or receive from a dealer a firearm; or
(b) transport a firearm out of this state to be resold to an ineligible person.

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GeneticsDave

· #4 · May 20, 2008

Section 5 that Don bolded and quoted applies only to the items in 18 USC 922 (d), it does not apply to age restrictions (which only dealers are required to abide by). However, like I stated earlier, it would be in the best interest of you and your brother-in-law to have him find his own firearm from a private party.

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Car Knocker

· #5 · May 20, 2008

Dave, you might want to check Mitch Vilos' current book, page 358. He states;

DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO ACT AS A "MIDDLEMAN" TO BUY GUNS FROM A GUN DEALER FOR PEOPLE UNDER THE AGE OF 21! IT'S A FELONY!

He goes on to quote UCA 76-10-527 (5) (although he erroneously uses the number (4) and then states:

As long as the non-dealer does not have the INTENT AT THE TIME HE OR SHE PURCHASES THE GUN, to transfer it to a person under 21, it can be legally sold to a person 18 or older, but younger than 21. It's legal for grandpa, who bought his pistol 5 years ago, intending to keep it, to give or sell it, to his granddaughter who is 18, but he cannot buy it from a dealer with the intent to transfer it to his granddaughter.

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GeneticsDave

· #6 · May 20, 2008

You know, that's right... I was under the impression that you could gift a gun to someone as long as they didn't pay your for it, but it looks more like you can only gift a gun if you originally purchased it for yourself and then later decided to gift it - which would mean you could sell it as well.

OK, it's settled then, don't buy the gun! Let him get his own from a private party.

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Paul

· #7 · May 20, 2008

What kind of gun does he want? Maybe someone here has one they could sell him.

Remember it is NOT illegal for you to sell a gun to him! You can sell him any of your guns that you want. There is also no legally mandated amount of time that you are required to own a gun before you decide that you don't like and want to sell it. You can buy a gun and sell it to someone anytime you want.

For example. You buy a nice new XD and bring it home and your wife freaks out and tells you to sell it immediately. So you decide to sell it and guess what... your nephew happens to want the gun you are selling. You can sell it to him and you are not breaking the law. You just can't buy the gun with the intention to sell it to him. Remember the key word "intention"... catch my drift?

Or you can just help him find the gun he wants on KSL classifieds and simply buy it.

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Thomas

· #8 · May 20, 2008

PW said:
For example. You buy a nice new XD and bring it home and your wife freaks out and tells you to sell it immediately. So you decide to sell it and guess what... your nephew happens to want the gun you are selling. You can sell it to him and you are not breaking the law. You just can't buy the gun with the intention to sell it to him. Remember the key word "intention"... catch my drift?

:ROFL: That made my day. I was trying to figure out a good way to give some advice but that was awesome.... :lolbang:

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ndavis2008

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 21, 2008

Great! So basically you are giving me an excuse to tell my wife why I need to buy another gun?

arty3: He would like an XD 40. So your saying that I could "GIFT" him my XD 40 and I could go buy a new gun, or he could just go to KSL and look for a private party selling theirs and he could buy it legally being 19 yrs old? He will be excited. Thanks for your help.

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GeneticsDave

· #10 · May 21, 2008

Righty-O, spot on. On your way then! :driving:

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