VA: Buy an assault rifle without those pesky background checks? You bet.

[yssie]

Posted with minimal commentary:
I’m not anti-gun.
I’m not anti-civilians-with-guns.
I’m anti-conceal-carry.
I’m very anti-military-grade-weaponry-in-civilian-hands.
And I’m extremely anti-“actually regulate sale and ownership of killing machines? Meh”.

Disclosure: Daniel Helmer is family. He’s a military veteran, an indulgent dad, and an all-round good guy - this post is to highlight the obscenity that is “gun control enforcement and regulation” here in the US, not to discuss his campaign or character.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Frightening - just goes to show that assumptions about procedures regarding gun purchases are just that - assumptions. I understand that this is a gun show and not a gun shop but who would jump through legal hoops if it could be this easy? Thanks for sharing!

 

[yssie]

That’s it exactly @MissGotRocks! It shouldn’t ever be this easy

 

[redwood66]

This is a private transfer that I, as a gun owner, would never do. Always use an FFL to sell a weapon to anyone.

Edit - however this is not against the law. It would be if the seller was an FFL holder.

 

[Tekate]

Jeez. this is just wrong.

 

[lyra]

It should be against all the laws.

 

[House Cat]

I don’t see how a person would know with 100% certainty that the gun they are buying under these circumstances didn’t commit a crime. This is stupid beyond belief.

 

[TooPatient]

I am used to Washington state laws. I always forget that not all states have the same as we do. Even before these laws were in place, all of the gun owners I know did things this way anyway.

Link to WA laws: https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.113


ETA: some days auto correct is crazy... Edited for auto "correct"

 

[TooPatient]

I don’t see how a person would know with 100% certainty that the gun they are buying under these circumstances didn’t commit a crime. This is stupid beyond belief.

You also don't have super solid proof if someone tries to say it was stolen. Going through transfer & background check means that if anything ever turns up weird in the gun's history, you have a solid paper trail that you did things absolutely correctly.

 

[TooPatient]

This is a private transfer that I, as a gun owner, would never do. Always use an FFL to sell a weapon to anyone.

Edit - however this is not against the law. It would be if the seller was an FFL holder.

I used to think that if I knew the buyer well, I might be willing to do private (before our state laws were changed) and skip FFL. I never did, thankfully, because I have since learned that at least two of the people I "know well" and are genuinely nice people had felony charges when they were young (like 20+ years ago). I was truly shocked. Just goes to show that you seldom truly know anyone. In something as seriius as the ownership of a firearm, I err on the side of caution and only sell to people I feel comfortable with AND through an FFL who handles background check.

 

[redwood66]

I used to think that if I knew the buyer well, I might be willing to do private (before our state laws were changed) and skip FFL. I never did, thankfully, because I have since learned that at least two of the people I "know well" and are genuinely nice people had felony charges when they were young (like 20+ years ago). I was truly shocked. Just goes to show that you seldom truly know anyone. In something as seriius as the ownership of a firearm, I err on the side of caution and only sell to people I feel comfortable with AND through an FFL who handles background check.

I thought the same thing years ago. Actually I have not sold a firearm in years, now I only buy them.

 

[TooPatient]

I thought the same thing years ago. Actually I have not sold a firearm in years, now I only buy them.

Same! We got rid of everything but the irreplaceable old wooden rifles when DH was out of work and now are working at rebuilding and expanding. (Just not the sort of thing I post here when I pick up!)