AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

An excellent decision by the SCOTUS.

Supreme Court Upholds Key Element In Federal Gun Laws

WASHINGTON (MCT) — The Supreme Court has upheld Federal gun laws that make it a crime when buying a weapon to lie about plans to give it to someone else.

By a 5-4 v**e, the justices agreed that a “straw purchaser” of a gun is guilty of a crime, even if he and the ultimate owner are both legally entitled to own firearms.

Justice Elena Kagan said the Federal firearms laws assume that gun purchasers will tell the t***h when they fill out Federal forms and return them to a licensed dealer. One question asks: “Are you the actual buyer of the firearm listed on the form?” It includes, in bold letters, a warning that a dealer cannot sell a weapon to someone who is not the actual buyer.

If buyers were free to lie, she said, it “would undermine — indeed, for all important purposes, would virtually repeal — the gun law’s core provisions.”

The laws aim to keep guns “out of the hands of criminals and others who should not have them,” she said in the decision in Abramski vs. United States. “And no part of that scheme would work if the statute turned a blind eye to straw purchases.”

Speaking for the dissenters, Justice Antonin Scalia said it was not clear that the plain language of the gun laws prohibited a legal buyer from purchasing a weapon for another legal buyer.

The ruling upholds the conviction of Bruce Abramski, a former Virginia police officer, who offered to buy a Glock 19 handgun for an uncle who lived in Pennsylvania. He said he could get the weapon for a better price. He had a $400 check from his uncle when he bought the weapon and falsely checked “Yes” on the form claiming he was the “actual buyer.”

He was later arrested and his belongings searched in an investigation of a bank robbery, but he was charged only with violating the gun-purchase laws. He entered a guilty plea and was given five years of probation. He then appealed, contending his purchase of the Glock was legal because he and his uncle were legal buyers.

Kagan disagreed, noting that it was not legal for him to buy a weapon if he was “merely a straw.”

If he had told the t***h, “the sale could not have gone forward,” she noted. Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor agreed.

–David G. Savage
Tribune Washington Bureau
(c)2014 Tribune Co.

votenoobama Loc: Texas

Great News!!!!!!!!!

rumitoid

Echo: An excellent decision by the SCOTUS.

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

I am simply unable to resist.

I would bet the money in my wallet you had zip, zero and nada idea there was a form you had to complete to purchase a gun. I would bet the money in my wallet you had zip, zero and nada idea it was a violation of an EXISTING GUN LAW to lie on that form. 😳😱😯🙀

Sorry...still like you.😊😽

dennisimoto Loc: Washington State (West)

I bought a rifle recently and filled out a form when doing so. After the deal was done the store salesperson went into the back room with the form. Don't know if he made a phone call or anything but it took about 10 minutes and he returned and handed over the receipt for the money I paid for the rifle. Guess I needed to pay close attention to detail because I don't remember which or what boxes I checked in the process. The whole t***saction was quick & efficient and the rifle, a Henry .22, shoots beautifully when I can find ammo for it.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

I have forever wanted a Henry .22....

RetNavyCWO Loc: VA suburb of DC

I purchased a Henry .22magnum at a gun show here in the DC area last year. Background check took about 15 minutes. I don't know why anyone would object to a background check if they don't have a criminal record. The gun store owner who was staffing the concession told me that he takes in a lot of guns in trade as partial payment for new guns. He said he has never had a Henry traded in. People keep them until they die and pass them on to their heirs.

The ammo shortage seemed to begin right after I bought it. Fortunately, I was able to stock up on several hundred rounds before ammo dried up. Walmart seems to have .22magnum ammo pretty often, but it's such a hassle to shop there that I won't bother. The last time I bought ammo there, it took 45 minutes for a clerk to come open the cabinet. I bought that much because I have two handguns that use the same ammo, one a Taurus revolver and the other a Keltec PMR30, a semiautomatic with a 30-rd magazine that fits flush in the grip. They're all pretty sweet! With ammo so hard to find nowadays, though, I avoid shooting them.

CDM Loc: Florida

I did know about it. Didn't know it was in contention though. I disagree with Scalia. As has been said, what good is a law if one is free to interpret it's meaning and intent at the counter?