New York City Investigates Arizona Gun Show

[KD5NRH]

If the PI's were actually from NYC and not local (AZ) hires, wouldn't the purchase be a Federal crime on the part of the purchasers, not just the sellers?

Either way, what did they intend to do with the guns when they purchased them?  Buying with intent to immediately resell sure sounds like dealing in firearms to me.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Was this done by a private seller, not a business? And if so, is a private seller required to make sure they are allowed to purchase it? 

I believe that private sellers are allowed to sell to anyone so long as they don't know that the buyer is prohibited.  You're under no obligation to investigate whether a buyer is legal, but you also can't ignore any info you already have that a buyer is illegal. 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

The case in AZ is interesting in that the fake buyers told the sellers that they didn't think they could pass a background check.  I don't know if this is enough to make it illegal to sell to them. 

Most average people are grossly ignorant when it comes to firearms laws, and I don't think it's entirely reasonable to trust that the buyer has any clue about his eligibility to purchase.  Unless he gives you a solid, specific reason to doubt his legality (he tells you he's a felon or that he just escaped form the rubber room) and demonstrates some understanding of the laws he's discussing, then his opinion on the matter probably doesn't have any bearing at all on the reality of his legal status to purchase.

I suppose it would come down to a judgment call on the part of the ATF investigator or local prosecutor or whomever, which may or may not be good for the seller.

It was certainly a Federal crime for the fake buyers to attempt to purchase a firearm over state lines.

[geronimotwo]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bloomberg_gun_control

here tom horne (az attorney general) is criticizing bloomberg for this operation.  wonder if he is able to bring charges? bloomberg is saying that it is az based pi's that did the purchasing.  that should be easy enough to check out.

[Ben]

The case in AZ is interesting in that the fake buyers told the sellers that they didn't think they could pass a background check.  I don't know if this is enough to make it illegal to sell to them. 

The "sting tape" I saw included some old guy who appeared to have trouble hearing the "buyer". The way he looked when the buyer said his "I don't think I could pass" line made it look like he didn't hear him. He did one of my hard of hearing Dad's classic moves of just kind of staring and slightly nodding or saying "uh-huh" like he heard what you said, but really didn't.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

The "sting tape" I saw included some old guy who appeared to have trouble hearing the "buyer". The way he looked when the buyer said his "I don't think I could pass" line made it look like he didn't hear him. He did one of my hard of hearing Dad's classic moves of just kind of staring and slightly nodding or saying "uh-huh" like he heard what you said, but really didn't.

That's entirely possible, I haven't seen any video of the event.  I'm going on what I read in the papers.

[220_SWIFT]

The "sting tape" I saw included some old guy who appeared to have trouble hearing the "buyer". The way he looked when the buyer said his "I don't think I could pass" line made it look like he didn't hear him. He did one of my hard of hearing Dad's classic moves of just kind of staring and slightly nodding or saying "uh-huh" like he heard what you said, but really didn't.

I thought the same thing when I saw it.  My father does that all the time, just like that.

[stevelyn]

Didn't they already try this stunt before? 

I wonder how much it costs to send them all the way to Arizona, pay for their time there, and bring them back.

Bigger question is why isn''t the waffen BATFEces nailing these guys since they clearly have no authrity or jursidiction to do what they are doing?

I'm convinced that if someone buying a gun from me told me they couldn't pass a background check, I'd probably drine their nose to the back of their head with a rifle butt because they're either:

1) A street thug.
2) A Bloomberg thug.
3) A BATFEces thug.

Either way regardless, it would be the morally proper thing to do.

[Monkeyleg]

In Milwaukee a couple of days ago, there was a 74 year-old guy who was charged in federal court with illegally selling a gun to an undercover agent who had told him that he (agent) was a felon, and needed a "throw away gun" for "his guys".

The 74 year-old was sentenced to a month in jail.

I don't agree with the light sentence, but that case is a whole hell of a lot stronger than what Bloomberg's sting operators are presenting. If they could even get the private sellers into court, I'd bet the defense would argue entrapment, and win.

Isn't NY going broke? Why is he spending taxpayer dollars on this?

[HankB]

In Milwaukee a couple of days ago, there was a 74 year-old guy who was charged in federal court with illegally selling a gun to an undercover agent who had told him that he (agent) was a felon, and needed a "throw away gun" for "his guys".

The 74 year-old was sentenced to a month in jail.

I don't agree with the light sentence,

I wouldn't agree with any sentence unless the "agent" he sold the gun to was actually a felon.

[Monkeyleg]

I wouldn't agree with any sentence unless the "agent" he sold the gun to was actually a felon.

If the agent was a felon, I don't think he could be an agent.

The agent gave the guy more than enough information for the guy to know he was selling to a prohibited person.