i’m 19 years old and live in Arizona. legally i can own and open carry a pistol at 18, buuut, the law says i can’t buy a gun until i’m 21. which makes complete sense to me sarcasm.
my question is, could my 21 year old friend, who owns guns for self-defense himself, buy a gun and gift it to me? i can legally own and carry one openly without a permit, but can’t buy one unless from a private seller. so does anyone know the laws in Arizona specifically regarding my 21 year old friend buying a gun and giving it to me to keep? would that be legal?
Hi Liam,
So first off let me say I think these laws are STUPID. If you can legally carry, you should be able to legally purchase.
Now let’s talk about legalities. On the background check when you purchase a handgun, one of the questions asked is “are you the intended owner of this gun”. Answering No to this disqualifies the buyer right out of the gate. If your friend were to lie on the form, that would be breaking the law… generally a bad plan to ask friends to do that.
Any time someone buys a gun for someone else, its considered a “straw purchase” and the laws are written specifically to prevent that, as its a method criminals or restricted persons could use to purchase guns through normal sales channels.
There are other options to explore, however. What are the gun transfer rules to under-legal-purchase-age in your state? In some states, an immediate family member can transfer the firearm as a gift. You have to look at what “immediate family member” means though - last time I did this, it was in CA more than 10 years ago. At the time that meant spouse, parent, child. It didn’t mean grandparent, brother, sister, grandchild, or cousin. It definitely didn’t include friend.
In some states, you might be allowed to make a private party purchase or gift, but again you have to look at your state laws, and it may be different for long guns and handguns.
Have you taken a look at the Arizona laws on firearms transfer? That’s the place to start I think.
You can view the Federal 4473 form online directly off ATF’s website.
First question: “Are you the actual transferee/buyer of the firearm(s) listed on this form?”
You can’t buy a gun for the other guy, this would be a straw purchase.
Now, bonafide gift of a firearm is completely legal.
On the last few 2 pages of the 4473 each section has a paragraph explaining more details behind what they are asking. Here is a screenshot:
If you read the whole thing it does not specify who the gift comes from. In fact they use an example of 'mr. Black and mr. Brown"
In this example, are you paying your friend back? -straw purchase.
This is JUST the 4473. I have no idea what other forms/hoops you have in AZ. Here in WI we have
a WI DOJ form that gets filled out for all handgun purchases. I could gift a firearm to Dawn if I wanted to (keep dreaming lady!) Some states only have the 4473 to fill out regardless of handgun vs long gun. In IL as example, both parties must have FOID cards for a gift (not sure if handguns are included with this) Certain states restrict the term ‘bonafide gift’ to mean direct family member as well. Basically, check AZ laws. Know them inside and out and keep checking in on them.
Do you have family in Arizona? Would your parents be able to assist you with the situation? I own firearms and my 19 year old sons have access to them whenever they would like to go to the range and train.
We’ve discussed open carry and they know my feelings on them open carrying. I want them to have more training before they open carry a firearm. And I also want to make sure they have the right holster (retention) for carrying.
not too close to my mother, father is STRONGLY anti-gun and would feel morally wrong buying such a dangerous weapon (that could one day be used to save his son or daughter-in-law). my uncle is a gun owner but idk if he can legally gift me one.
I just want to chime in to add that sometimes these laws are really REALLY dumb. Here in Michigan at 18 you can legally open carry a handgun, provided you are the owner of said handgun. From 18 to 20 you have to buy from a private seller, same as Arizona. I haven’t asked too much about gifting or anything like that, but there is a young lady I work with (she’s 20) who may be purchasing my XDs .45acp. A year ago I never dreamed I would consider selling it, but I have a new EDC so the XDs is just collecting dust now…
I can see where you’re coming from, but at 18 years old a US citizen can vote for who controls our country and can go to far off places and defend our freedoms and ways of life. 18 years old is an adult in our society and the age of responsibility and adulthood used to be much, much younger. If you take those factors into account, I personally can’t find a valid argument for why someone who can help determine the fate of our country and literally fight and die for said country would not have the decision making and critical thinking skills necessary to carry a gun to protect themselves.
@JustinK
While I agree with you that 18 year old’s are legal adults and should have all the rights of a 21 year old, the answer to why would they not have the decision making kills is this
I disagree slightly, but only in that I don’t believe it’s the role of the education system to raise our kids into adults or to guide them in the type of decision making skills required to be adults. The shaping of a kid’s world view, character, moral philosophy, and social acumen (in essence, everything that makes them an adult) should be being driven by the parents.
Now the fact that the parental situation and participation in society has degraded as far as it has can certainly be looked at as a reason for why kids are lacking, but in the end, I still think that if an 18 year old can be trusted to vote and join the military, then they’re capable of making the decision to exercise their right of self protection and all that entails.
All of this is, of course, just my opinion and I’m not saying it’s correct. Just the way I view things.
I’m not sure I totally agree, but I’m enjoying our conversation.
I feel like the decision making skills that make you into an adult are based more off your values (moral, ethical, and societal). If we’re talking about schools providing tools such as bases in mathematics, hard sciences, and language (i.e. formal english training such as grammar), then I agree that is their responsibility.
I also feel like those things are still readily available, but require a kid to have the respect and willingness to learn and that’s driven by the parents raising them with those values. I also feel like it’s the parent’s responsibility to monitor what their kids are actually receiving at school and either augment it as necessary or change the source if need be, to make sure their kid is developing appropriately.
Ultimately, I don’t believe the state, or any form of educators, have the responsibility or the right to try to raise our kids. That falls on the parents.
