Firearms Transactions and Straw Purchases

A Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) supports the proposed rule to distinguish straw purchases from lawful gifts but requests more concrete examples of common scenarios to ensure dealers are not unfairly penalized for processing honest family transactions. The commenter emphasizes that a customer's statement of a gift should not, by itself, create reasonable cause to suspect a crime.

The CEO of Silencer Central / BANISH Suppressors, a Federal Firearms Licensee, supports the proposed rule to codify straw purchasing laws into a single regulatory section. The commenter argues that the rule provides much-needed clarity but requests three specific refinements regarding age terminology, family relationship exclusions, and spousal payment conditions to ensure the rule is easily administrable at the point of sale.

Roger Grubb, a private citizen, opposes the proposed rule on the grounds that it exceeds the ATF's statutory authority, creates arbitrary cohabitation requirements for spouses, and lacks clarity regarding "consideration." He argues the rule creates constitutional and procedural vulnerabilities and requests specific revisions to protect lawful intra-family transfers.

A U.S. Air Force veteran supports the proposed action to clarify straw purchase definitions. The commenter argues that clear distinctions are needed to protect individuals making lawful gifts or shared purchases from being wrongly prosecuted for illegal procurement schemes.

An individual commenter supports the proposed rule, arguing that criminalizing lawful gift purchases between family members is a regulatory overreach. They emphasize that a gift purchase should not be classified as a straw purchase when neither party is a prohibited person.

An individual gun owner supports the proposed rule to clarify that lawful gift purchases between family members do not constitute straw purchases. They argue that the current ambiguity puts innocent owners at risk of prosecution and urge the ATF to finalize the rule.