Sell your dad a pistol – now you're a criminal

Not long ago, a friend of mine was telling me the story of his father’s acquisition of long-desired handgun. They were in a gun shop and found the exact gun his dad had been wanting for a number of years. The price was right, but the problem was that they were all the way across the state of Texas from their hometown, and if the background check didn’t go through and immediately return an approval, it would require a nine-hour drive back to the shop when the approval finally came through a few days later. His dad was going to pass on the gun because his “instant” background checks seemed to always get delayed, and he wasn’t willing to make the drive again. As a solution, my friend pulled out his Texas concealed carry permit and bought the gun on the spot. Having a carry license negates the need for a background check in most states. After the sale, he handed the gun to his father and his father handed him a check for the price of the gun. In doing that, they both committed a federal felony, as did the dealer who sold it to them and witnessed their private transaction.

My friend was incredulous when I explained to him that, had he bought the gun as a gift for his father, everything would have been legal, but because he was reimbursed for the cost for the gun, the transaction was technically a “straw sale.” My friend, his father and the dealer could be charged with lying in the process of a firearm transaction – the same crime members of the Reese family spent a year and a half in jail over and for which they are still being persecuted. The stated penalty for the crime is up to five years and a $5,000 fine, but if some in Congress get their way, that will move up to a penalty of up to 20 years and $100,000 in fines.

More Here