Requesting help with gun laws

[itzpookiie]

hi, there is a law stating that you have to be the age of 21 to purchase a handgun at a gun store, but 18 to purchase a gun from a private sale.

if i purchase from a private sales how do i transfer my name to the gun since its registered to the former owner?

is it legal for me to take it to the range and shoot it?

how does the private sales work, does that person have to have a license to sell it to me or do i have to have anything to buy it from him other than being 18+? *i have not been convicted or had any felony

basicly i want to buy and own a handgun legally soon
telling me how to do so would help

thanks help appreciated

 

[itzpookiie]

i understand there is a law stating that i cant have someone else buy the handgun for me
it would be considered as a straw purchase

so what if a friend were to buy a handgun and decided he didnt want it anymore and sold it to me
how would they know if it was a straw purchase or not

 

[KellyAsh]

You cannot own, or buy, a handgun until you are 21 in Texas, at a gun show, or a private sale. There is no gun registration in Texas so nobodys name is on any gun other than Class III stuff. Once you are 21 you can do a face to face, or gun show, or gun store, or whatever kind of purchase of a handgun completely legally. If your dad bought you a handgun say, for your 18th bday, it would technically be your dads until you turned 21. In the mean time he would have to take you to the range with it and shoot it until you turned 21. You could not be in legal possession of that handgun at all with your friends or by yourself.

Someone selling you a handgun would be considered an illegal "straw" purchase because you are not 21 yrs old. A straw purchase would be the sale of a weapon to another individual that is not legally able to buy or own that weapon for whatever reason, in your case your age, in others it might be a recent felony conviction, or other disqualifier.

Do some searching on here and you'll find all the answers you can think of and then some...and would be appreciated before asking questions. If youve looked and still cant find it then, by all means, ask away.

 

[itzpookiie]

You cannot own, or buy, a handgun until you are 21 in Texas, at a gun show, or a private sale. There is no gun registration in Texas so nobodys name is on any gun other than Class III stuff. Once you are 21 you can do a face to face, or gun show, or gun store, or whatever kind of purchase of a handgun completely legally. If your dad bought you a handgun say, for your 18th bday, it would technically be your dads until you turned 21. In the mean time he would have to take you to the range with it and shoot it until you turned 21. You could not be in legal possession of that handgun at all with your friends or by yourself.

Someone selling you a handgun would be considered an illegal "straw" purchase because you are not 21 yrs old. A straw purchase would be the sale of a weapon to another individual that is not legally able to buy or own that weapon for whatever reason, in your case your age, in others it might be a recent felony conviction, or other disqualifier.

Do some searching on here and you'll find all the answers you can think of and then some...and would be appreciated before asking questions. If youve looked and still cant find it then, by all means, ask away.

people are telling me what ur telling me but others also say
"In Texas, you can legally own a handgun at 18, you just can't buy one from a federally licensed dealer until you're 21.

If you legally own a handgun, you can carry it in your vehicle as described above.

Rifles and shotguns are not covered under the above law, as they are not restricted at all."(quoted from this forum)

purchases from a ftf dealer require you to be 21 and 18 for private sales(quoted from someone else)

gotta be clear with this issue

 

[KellyAsh]

Time for you to do a little research for yourself then. I thought I was pretty clear. Good luck.

 

[itzpookiie]

Time for you to do a little research for yourself then. I thought I was pretty clear. Good luck.

u were clear with ur answer but some people say something else
i wouldnt have came here to ask if i didnt alrdy try to do research
ur telling me i have to be 21 to be in possession of a handgun and other people on this forum say 18

 

[KellyAsh]

Time for you to do a little research for yourself then. Research on this forum. The laws are posted here. Dont trust me or your buddy or anyone else on here. We might be wrong. Learn for yourself.

 

[itzpookiie]

Time for you to do a little research for yourself then. Research on this forum. The laws are posted here. Dont trust me or your buddy or anyone else on here. We might be wrong. Learn for yourself.

ok wait so ur telling me to research on this forum but dont trust anyone else on this forum because they might be wrong

 

[KellyAsh]

Ok. Your statement got me to thinking about the ability to legally purchase a handgun at 18 under a private sale so I did my own research to refresh my memory and I did find the answer...in about 15 minutes. Thanks for helping me get updated.

 

[KellyAsh]

ok wait so ur telling me to research on this forum but dont trust anyone else on this forum because they might be wrong

Im telling you to learn for yourself instead of trusting a person. People post up the actual laws on here all the time and those you can trust.

 

[Texan2]

You cannot own, or buy, a handgun until you are 21 in Texas, at a gun show, or a private sale. There is no gun registration in Texas so nobodys name is on any gun other than Class III stuff. Once you are 21 you can do a face to face, or gun show, or gun store, or whatever kind of purchase of a handgun completely legally. If your dad bought you a handgun say, for your 18th bday, it would technically be your dads until you turned 21. In the mean time he would have to take you to the range with it and shoot it until you turned 21. You could not be in legal possession of that handgun at all with your friends or by yourself.

Someone selling you a handgun would be considered an illegal "straw" purchase because you are not 21 yrs old. A straw purchase would be the sale of a weapon to another individual that is not legally able to buy or own that weapon for whatever reason, in your case your age, in others it might be a recent felony conviction, or other disqualifier.

Do some searching on here and you'll find all the answers you can think of and then some...and would be appreciated before asking questions. If youve looked and still cant find it then, by all means, ask away.

Not entirely accurate... while you cant buy from an FFL until you are 18/21. There are exclusons in the Federal law for "gifts" and are generally considered legitimate if the firearm is being bought for an immediate family member. "immediate' family is typically considered, husband buying for wife, wife for husband, parent for child. (obviously the recipient cant be barred from purchasing themselves) There is often debate as to what a "straw purchase" actually is. Some law says it is when one makes a purchase for someone who is unable to buy for themself, some argue that it is just anyone who buys for someone else. Siblings buying for each other are typically considered straw purchases.
Quick overview in TX:
Long Gun - 18 face to face - 18 from dealer (some dealers policy is 21 for all guns)
Handgun - 18 Face to Face - 21 from dealer
Receiver - 18 Face to Face - 21 from dealer since it can be both a handgun and long gun

I do think that the suggestion that one does reasearch for themself if a good idea. LAws are pretty easy to look up in Texas. If you look it up for yourself you will be confident you have the correct information

 

[Big country]

Texascop2 is correct. I have worked with commissioned security officers that are 18 years old and carrying a handgun legally. So you can own the handgun and you can take it to the range. I wouldn't carry it around in my car if I wasn't 21 but that is simply to avoid the hassle.

 

[itzpookiie]

Not entirely accurate... while you cant buy from an FFL until you are 18/21. There are exclusons in the Federal law for "gifts" and are generally considered legitimate if the firearm is being bought for an immediate family member. "immediate' family is typically considered, husband buying for wife, wife for husband, parent for child. (obviously the recipient cant be barred from purchasing themselves) There is often debate as to what a "straw purchase" actually is. Some law says it is when one makes a purchase for someone who is unable to buy for themself, some argue that it is just anyone who buys for someone else. Siblings buying for each other are typically considered straw purchases.
Quick overview in TX:
Long Gun - 18 face to face - 18 from dealer (some dealers policy is 21 for all guns)
Handgun - 18 Face to Face - 21 from dealer
Receiver - 18 Face to Face - 21 from dealer since it can be both a handgun and long gun

I do think that the suggestion that one does reasearch for themself if a good idea. LAws are pretty easy to look up in Texas. If you look it up for yourself you will be confident you have the correct information

so
can my friend buy a pistol and decide he doesnt like it and sell it to me
how would they know if it was a straw purchase or not would i get in trouble for this

 

[Texan2]

so
can my friend buy a pistol and decide he doesnt like it and sell it to me
how would they know if it was a straw purchase or not would i get in trouble for this

Typically the state has to prove the culpable mental state of a defendant.

In short, the intent. If your friend buys a handgun today from a dealer and sells it to you today or tommorow, it could be argued (pretty easily) that he intended to execute a straw purchase on your behalf. If you buy a gun from him that he has owned for sometime....probable would never be an issue.

My advice is typically dont see how close you can get to the line without going over.

 

[txinvestigator]

You cannot own, or buy, a handgun until you are 21 in Texas, at a gun show, or a private sale.

Wrong. Neither federal nor Texas laws regulate the "ownership" of firearms. Possession, sale and transfer, manufacture, etc are regulated.
Federal law prohibits licensed dealers from transferring a handgun to a person under 21. A private seller is under no such restriction.

If your dad bought you a handgun say, for your 18th bday, it would technically be your dads until you turned 21 In the mean time he would have to take you to the range with it and shoot it until you turned 21. You could not be in legal possession of that handgun at all with your friends or by yourself.

None of that is true. His dad can buy a handgun and give it to him or allow him to carry in in his car (assuming he meets Penal Code 46.02) or shoot it at the range.

Someone selling you a handgun would be considered an illegal "straw" purchase because you are not 21 yrs old.

Wrong. Only if the other person buys from a dealer with the intent to transfer to the OP.

A straw purchase would be the sale of a weapon to another individual that is not legally able to buy or own that weapon for whatever reason, in your case your age, in others it might be a recent felony conviction, or other disqualifier.

Nope. Only of from a dealer is that true.

Do some searching on here and you'll find all the answers you can think of and then some...and would be appreciated before asking questions. If youve looked and still cant find it then, by all means, ask away.

So should those who answer questions, it would seem.

Time for you to do a little research for yourself then. I thought I was pretty clear. Good luck.

Since you repeatedly admonished the guy with that allow me to respond in kind;

YOU should do research before you give advice that is completely wrong. You were clear, but you were 100% wrong.

 

[Texan2]

Lmao.....I knew it was only a matter of time before the hammer came down on that post...

 

[itzpookiie]

so is there anywhere else that i can go look for private sales of handguns

like a forum like this for instance, how it has a sale section
would we have to go to a ffl dealer to do the transaction or can it be a private sale

my friend has bought it last week and decided he needed money more than a gun that he barely takes to the range

ive heard that gun shows are private sales? can someone confirm?

 

[txinvestigator]

You cannot own, or buy, a handgun until you are 21 in Texas, at a gun show, or a private sale. There is no gun registration in Texas so nobodys name is on any gun other than Class III stuff. Once you are 21 you can do a face to face, or gun show, or gun store, or whatever kind of purchase of a handgun completely legally. If your dad bought you a handgun say, for your 18th bday, it would technically be your dads until you turned 21. In the mean time he would have to take you to the range with it and shoot it until you turned 21. You could not be in legal possession of that handgun at all with your friends or by yourself.

Someone selling you a handgun would be considered an illegal "straw" purchase because you are not 21 yrs old. A straw purchase would be the sale of a weapon to another individual that is not legally able to buy or own that weapon for whatever reason, in your case your age, in others it might be a recent felony conviction, or other disqualifier.

Do some searching on here and you'll find all the answers you can think of and then some...and would be appreciated before asking questions. If youve looked and still cant find it then, by all means, ask away.

so is there anywhere else that i can go look for private sales of handguns

like a forum like this for instance, how it has a sale section
would we have to go to a ffl dealer to do the transaction or can it be a private sale

my friend has bought it last week and decided he needed money more than a gun that he barely takes to the range

ive heard that gun shows are private sales? can someone confirm?

The majority of those with tables at gun shows are dealers, and they must follow federal law for selling firearms. You can sometimes find a private seller walking around.

If you purchase a handgun from someone in the same state as which you reside, you do not have to go thru a dealer. You can have what we call a face to face sale (FTF). You give him money, he gives you firearm. If it is from someone outside of your state, it must go thru a dealer.

 

[Texan2]

so is there anywhere else that i can go look for private sales of handguns

like a forum like this for instance, how it has a sale section
would we have to go to a ffl dealer to do the transaction or can it be a private sale

my friend has bought it last week and decided he needed money more than a gun that he barely takes to the range

ive heard that gun shows are private sales? can someone confirm?

look at the sale forum on here or texasguntrader.com

find what you want and go from there...no dealer required.

what is it you are looking for? maybe if I see on I will send you a link

 

[itzpookiie]

thanks guys help was appreciated
got all my questions answered
loving this community so far

looking for a(houston area preferred)
fnp-9
or
cz 07duty
or
beretta px4 storm 9mm