giggitygiggity
Member
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2009
- Messages
- 2,251
Many bigger stores that sell guns have a procedure that can be summarized as follows:
1. Customer goes to sporting goods section of store and decides to buy a gun.
2. The customer and employee fill out the ATF 4473.
3. A background check is completed.
4. Upon being issued a “proceed” at the conclusion of the background check, the employee rings up the gun and the customer pays for the gun.
5. An employee, usually someone from management, then escorts (walk of shame) the customer to the store exit.
6. Upon exiting the store, the employee hands the gun to the customer.
Frankly, I find the whole practice of escorting a customer who just passed a background check to the exit to be dumb on numerous levels. That said, I’ve played the game many times for the sake of a good deal.
However, what if, after I pay for the gun, the employee says, “I need to walk you to the exit” and I say “No thank you. Please hand me my gun and I’ll walk myself out.” I am curious to learn from our resident attorneys if the store has any legal standing on which to deny a customer access to their gun after the customer pays.
It seems to me that if the store refused to hand over my gun after I pay and after having been being asked to do so that a case could be made against the employee and/or the store of stealing one’s personal property.
I think it gets to the technicality of when one actually owns something. Do I own the gun once I pay for it, once I exit the store, after 30 seconds have elapsed from the time of my transaction, after a day from the transaction, etc?
I am not trying to encourage others to give employees a difficult time as I know that most of them are simply doing their jobs when they conduct the walk of shame, but I am curious nonetheless.
1. Customer goes to sporting goods section of store and decides to buy a gun.
2. The customer and employee fill out the ATF 4473.
3. A background check is completed.
4. Upon being issued a “proceed” at the conclusion of the background check, the employee rings up the gun and the customer pays for the gun.
5. An employee, usually someone from management, then escorts (walk of shame) the customer to the store exit.
6. Upon exiting the store, the employee hands the gun to the customer.
Frankly, I find the whole practice of escorting a customer who just passed a background check to the exit to be dumb on numerous levels. That said, I’ve played the game many times for the sake of a good deal.
However, what if, after I pay for the gun, the employee says, “I need to walk you to the exit” and I say “No thank you. Please hand me my gun and I’ll walk myself out.” I am curious to learn from our resident attorneys if the store has any legal standing on which to deny a customer access to their gun after the customer pays.
It seems to me that if the store refused to hand over my gun after I pay and after having been being asked to do so that a case could be made against the employee and/or the store of stealing one’s personal property.
I think it gets to the technicality of when one actually owns something. Do I own the gun once I pay for it, once I exit the store, after 30 seconds have elapsed from the time of my transaction, after a day from the transaction, etc?
I am not trying to encourage others to give employees a difficult time as I know that most of them are simply doing their jobs when they conduct the walk of shame, but I am curious nonetheless.
