purchasing a handgun

I'm not familiar with Indiana law but it seems to make sense if they issed you handgun permit you can legally purchase a handgun. Are you licensed under IC35-47-2-3?

Not from a dealer as Federal law prevents a dealer from transferring a handgun to anyone under 21. You would have to buy from an individual.

Would it be considered a straw purchase if someone 21+ bought the handgun from a dealer and then I bought it from them?

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That would be the exact definition of straw purchase. Bad federal crime - don't do it. If Indiana says, through their exemption you cited that you can own and carry a handgun, the Feds still won't let you get one through a dealer. They don't say you can't own it, so a private transaction within Indiana is your only legal route. And not via a straw purchase.

Also, the same Federal law (18 USC 922) that makes it illegal for you to purchase a handgun from an FFL also makes it illegal for you to purchase ammunition for use in a handgun from an FFL. However, normally, no false oral or written statement is required to be made by someone else buying ammunition for you. So if you give a 21+ person money to buy ammunition from a dealer for you, usually the transaction is, from dealer to your friend, "Can I see ID to verify you are over 21?" "Yes, here it is, I am over 21." Here's your ammo. No false statement was required to be made.

So long as no oral or false statement is made to the dealer, no law is broken. The handgun is an entirely different manner because it is asked on the 4473, "Are you the actual purchaser of the firearm?". As soon as your friend answers yes to that question, when he/she is actually purchasing it on your behalf, that is when the straw purchase happens.

Also, the same Federal law (18 USC 922) that makes it illegal for you to purchase a handgun from an FFL also makes it illegal for you to purchase ammunition for use in a handgun from an FFL. However, normally, no false oral or written statement is required to be made by someone else buying ammunition for you. So if you give a 21+ person money to buy ammunition from a dealer for you, usually the transaction is, from dealer to your friend, "Can I see ID to verify you are over 21?" "Yes, here it is, I am over 21." Here's your ammo. No false statement was required to be made.

So long as no oral or false statement is made to the dealer, no law is broken. The handgun is an entirely different manner because it is asked on the 4473, "Are you the actual purchaser of the firearm?". As soon as your friend answers yes to that question, when he/she is actually purchasing it on your behalf, that is when the straw purchase happens.

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What if the person over 21 buying the weapon keeps it for themselves for a period of time then sells privately? Is there a certain amount of time that would make the straw purchase irrelevant?

MeanGreen,

There are actually a lot of different factors here.

1. If the over 21 purchaser buys the firearm from a dealer with the specific intent of giving that firearm to you in return for compensation, then it is, legally, a straw purchase. It doesn't matter how long they wait to furnish you the gun, what matters is the intent at the time of purchase. Now, if a person sees a gun that is a good deal, and they think to themselves, I'll bet I can sell that gun later and make some money, and they buy the gun, then, since they have no intent to sell it to a specific recipient, it is not a straw purchase. They are buying the gun to add to their personal collection, and hoping that they may sell it later to no one person in particular for maybe more than they paid for it.

2. The BATFE recommends holding on to a gun for 1 year before selling it. It is only a recommendation, not a requirement.

3. All this stuff is very hard to prove. Chances are the BATFE is not going to concern themselves over a one time deal where a person buys a gun from a dealer and sells it to another party the next day. It is hard for them to prove intent. Now if a person buys five guns in a month and all five guns end up in other persons' hands, then they have reason to wrinkle their foreheads over it. Or, if during an audit, they discover a 4473 for in one person's name and a credit card receipt attached in another person's name, that would cause concern.

So, to answer your question, the law is about the intent of the buyer in regards to what they are going to do with the gun they are buying, there is no time limit specified. Even if that person buys the gun with the intent of receiving compensation for that gun from you, and waits until you are 21 to do the transaction with you, it would still be a straw purchase at the time of the purchase, because the buyer had no intention of being the actual owner of the gun, he bought it with the purpose of providing it to you for compensation.

Cool I understood the whole intent deal but I was more or less wondering how something like that could be proven... As you said a person could legally purchase a sks (for example) from a FFL and decide the next day to sell it to someone FTF, there would not be any reprocussions legally because there wasnt any intent to transfer the weapon to a person underage or unable to make the purchase themselves.

In my eyes the laws concerning straw purchases are more concerned with people buying guns for people who cant legally. I appreciate you making that more clear to me.