"The article points out that part of the problem is that “straw purchase” is not illegal in Texas, and a gun owner may sell the gun to a private party without verifying the buyer’s identity, much less the background check a dealer would run. This is not true elsewhere in the U.S. In my state, Pennsylvania, straw purchases for a prohibited person (such as a felon) are a crime and no one may sell a handgun without doing it through a dealer, who will run a background check on the buyer. "
I was under the impression it was just as illegal under federal law for a resident to sell a pistol to a felon in Texas as it is for a resident to do the same inside Pennsylvania (1968 GCA). Am I wrong, somehow? Gun laws are confusing, but I didn't think I was that confused.
3 comments:
Ah, a later, seemingly more knowlegagle, commenter corrected the quoted commenter, coinciding with my assumptions.
It is illegal to knowingly sell a firearm to a prohibited person but Texas does not require the seller to check identification or go through an FFL.
Most people do check identification or ask in order to reduce their liability.
It should probably be pointed out that a straw purchase is deliberately buying something for someone who is prohibited from buying it themselves.
In other words the entire reason person A bought the item was so that prohibited person B could have it.
It is not a straw purchase for person A to have bought an item that person B cannot own and later sell them that item. It might still be illegal, but it's not a straw purchase.
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