I worry about that a little bit as well. I’ve been trading guns for more that 30 years and for the first several of those years I traded a few handguns I had bought from a dealer to guys who had a table at a gun show. I don’t know their names or where they live other than that they told me they were KY residents. This was (and still is) 100% legal in my state, but there’s still the fear in the back of my mind that one day an ATF agent will knock on my door holding a gun that was dropped at a crime scene and is on a 4473 with my name on it. Intellectually I realize it should take actual evidence I was the one holding it in order for me to be prosecuted, but it still bothers me. I also don’t want to be the guy featured on CNN as the person who sold some mass murderer his gun.
Most likely none unless you knew about it. What are the requirements for face to face sales in your state. Here in Texas as long as you don't know a person is prohibited every thing is good to go. If he uses the gun illegally that is on him.
I'd say yes(altho not a lawyer) but even in a state that allows for face to face, I would do it via a FFL, with a 4473, just to protect myself..IMHO..Reading your post made me kind of nervous.
Well, I made a sale a short time ago. It was rather nerve-wracking because I was trying to be so cautious and kept wondering how it would go. I met the guy at a small city park near my house. I picked that spot because the pavilion near the parking lot has a security camera. However, there were other people in the pavilion, so we ended up doing everything from the back of his pickup truck.
There were things that made me very nervous. First, he responded to my ad almost immediately and offered me the full price without even seeing the shotgun, except for the pictures I posted. After I took the gun out of the case to show him, he didn’t even inspect it for more than a few seconds, but instead just took out the full amount I asked for and gave it to me. He didn’t even try to haggle with me. I asked for $360, thinking I’d be talked down to $350, but was willing to take $320. I bought it used from a dealer for $300 7 years ago. It was a tactical style Remington 870, and I guess there’s a demand for that sort of thing right now. Maybe I didn’t ask for enough.
Also, I was going to ask him if he was a felon, just to have it on record, but I completely forgot. One thing I did do was have my smartphone on video record in my shirt pocket, although the lens was covered most of the time. At least I got all the audio. I made sure to get his license plate number at least.
What do you guys think? Did I screw up? If he commits a crime and the gun is traced back to me, am I automatically toast?
It also weeds out a significant number of legitimate buyers.
Protect yourself from what?
From the guy taking it and robbing a bank with it..Pretty easy to trace who the original owner is. You 'may' be cleared of everything but you'll be involved in a legal hassle no doubt. Y'all do whatever ya wish but if I were in a state that allowed face to face, I would like to know whether or not the buyer is a felon ...
Do you know of a case where this actually happened? I've had this discussion numerous times and have yet to be given a real life example.
That's a bit relative.
Hey if you don't want to do a bill of sale then you want get my firearm. That simple. When I post I make it clear. Local meet up only. Cash only. Bill of sale required. Unless you have a CCW.
Yes. You said that before. They're your guns, require what you like. Just recognize that you're chasing away many potential buyers.
Nope, but I know a lawyer and the cases where he has had to get involved were VARIED with a capitial 'V'...Pay your money, take your chances but if you sell a gun, and that guy shoots somebody, you WILL be involved..
I live in a state with no additional prohibitions against private firearm sales, and this has been my normal routine. It allows me to specifically state that the buyer was legal to buy the firearm at the time of sale, to the best of my knowledge and ability to determine.
You just made this claim again, literally one sentence after you said you'd never heard of it happening. Or was that not what "nope" meant?
I don't think FFGColorado is trying to ruin a "good" discussion (I'll come back to the "good" part) so much as he's trying to relay what he sees as a good precaution to take. Obviously, I vehemently disagree with him and consider what he's suggesting an attempted invasion of privacy but it's still an interesting discussion.
It's different (somewhat) when the question is about legal issues. Those take more time and effort to learn all the little nuances. In this case the question wasn't about the law, but rather was about "something similar to Craigslist" for selling guns. If the OP had typed "Craigslist for guns" or "something similar to Craigslist guns" into a search engine he would have had his answer in seconds. That was my point.
