That’s actually something that I’ve wondered about in the past. As we’ve already discussed, a straw purchase requires an exchange of money, goods, or services (or an agreement to make that exchange in the future) before the 4473 is completed and signed. But what about a couple that shares their money? It would be a straw purchase for me to hand my friend Fred $500 and have him go to the LGS and buy me a gun, but what about my wife? My wife and I share our money, but Fred and I don’t. Or take an exchange of services: If I told Fred I’d mow his law for a year if he bought me a gun from the LGS, that would be a straw purchase. But what if I did the same with my wife? We share the same lawn, but Fred and I don’t.
I presented this question to
@Frank Ettin a few years ago via PM, and his answer was that — as far as he knew — this hasn’t come up in court so there’s no clear answer. He said that even if a couple shares their money, it could be problematic in some situations and would depend on marital property laws, among other things. (Frank, if this isn’t an accurate description of your response, please feel free to correct me.)
I suppose the simple answer is that because spouses usually share money and often share firearms, questions of what does and doesn’t constitute a straw purchase can get murkier when it comes to spouses, but there still is no explicit exemption for spouses when it comes to straw purchases laws.