12 March 2018

Almost Paranoia

I find I stop myself from saying, "Do you realize how stupid it sounds to say, 'You can own this, but you cannot buy this?'" with regards to guns under Florida's new gun control student safety law.

The reason I stop myself is the fear that the response will be, "Holy shit!  You're right!  They shouldn't be allowed to own this either!"

I am waiting for the first parent of an 18 year old who gives their offspring a gun being charged with making a straw purchase.
Posted by Angus McThag at 10:51
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9 comments:

  1. SiGraybeard12 March, 2018 11:17

    Saturday night while driving home from church, I flick on the radio and an AM talk show is on. Joe Pags. His guest is one of the parents from Parkland, a guy who has been one of the most vocal about losing his daughter. He was making exactly the argument that the gun control bill wasn't bad because a parent could just buy a gun for their kid.

    Having filled out my share of 4473s, I immediately thought of the straw purchase angle. How are gifts different from straw purchases at any time? I've bought a gun for my wife, but had here fill out the 4473.

    I'd guess that it's all prosecutorial discretion. If you buy one or two guns as a gift, no biggie; if you buy a bunch they consider them straw purchases; either that or you're part of Eric Holder's DOJ.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tam12 March, 2018 12:17

      "How are gifts different from straw purchases at any time? I've bought a gun for my wife, but had here fill out the 4473."

      If you were buying the gun for her, you should have filled out the 4473. There is no actual felony called a "straw purchase", a straw purchase consists of lying on the form 4473, specifically in the answer to question 11.a "Are you the actual buyer of the firearm?"

      Delete
    2. Angus McThag12 March, 2018 14:35

      The instructions on at least one iteration of the 4473 said that if the gun was a gift to someone else you should say yes, you are the actual buyer.

      I've also had a dealer refuse to sell to me when I borrowed the money for the purchase in front of them. I was the actual buyer, I just didn't have any actual money.

      The mythical "straw buy" is person A, who's allowed to own a gun, buying for person B, who's prohibited.

      This law is worded a little oddly so there's room for a prosecutor to say that Dad buying his son a gun was actually the son buying the gun, so illegal. The hasty assembly of the bill is to blame. It's traditional in Florida for the law to be poorly written and have a court figure out what it really says (even if it doesn't say what the court says it says).

      Our three iterations of "brief exposure" are proof of that!

      Delete
    3. Tam12 March, 2018 21:31

      I didn't know there was a specific "Straw Purchas" law in FL. That sucks.

      Delete
    4. Angus McThag13 March, 2018 00:00

      I was referring to the new law that says under 21 cannot buy and licensees cannot sell to under 21. It's not worded well enough to keep the prosecutors in the bluer areas from claiming that buying a gun for someone under 21 as a gift is a defacto purchase by the under 21 person. They torment the laws down there. It's why we have had to go back to congress three times to get a brief and accidental exposure of your CCW decriminalized. The three attempts are kind of the core of the desire to get open carry done as well.

      I don't know if we have a specific straw buy law, but the gunshow in Orlando had deputies ACTING like there was such a law and trying to disrupt face to face sales by accusing the buyers of being fronts for criminals. Could be they were just being jerks, with that department it's believable.

      Delete
    5. Weer'd Beard13 March, 2018 07:02

      I know when I did my horse-trading gift business with my Father-in-law, they told me to buy a gift certificate for him, then hand him the card, and he filled out the 4473.

      "straw buy" laws are like Massachusetts ammo possession charges, or cutting down the barrel of your AR on facebook, they only charge people who need to be made example of, because equal coverage of that stupid law would induce a revolt.

      Delete
    6. Tam13 March, 2018 10:56

      I was googling about, and apparently FL has some pretty vague language in its own state law defining straw purchases. http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/florida-law-inspires-confusion-over-whether-straw-buyer-of-weapon-can-be/1260651

      Delete
    7. Angus McThag13 March, 2018 11:42

      Always nice to see language in the new law that's supposed to protect us under the ex parte protection orders is the same language that was, "effectively eviscerated by case law."

      Delete
  2. Miguel GFZ12 March, 2018 12:52

    One of the amendments the Dems were rabidly pushing in both the Florida Senate and the House was to include prohibited possession in the 18-20 category.
    Anybody who keeps saying "We are not coming after your guns" slap them with a 2x6 and force them to read the 231 amendments in SB 7026 (2018)
    The only crap they did try not touch (an amazed me) was Stand Your Ground.

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