Ammunition straw purchase?

[capntang]

I'm posting this to a few forums I frequent to see if anyone is more familiar with this type of situation than I am.

My 15 year old cousin was in town today, and I told him that I would take him down to the Air Force Base to shoot a round or two of skeet. His mother was thrilled that I was willing to take him, so verbal consent was there.

I stopped by Walmart on the way out there to buy some shells, and the woman behind the counter refused to sell me the ammo unless my cousin produced ID that stated he was 18 years of age. She claimed to have overheard a conversation indicating that my cousin would be using some of the ammo I intended to purchase, and she stated that the sale of the ammo under those circumstances would qualify as a straw purchase.

Now, I wasn't actually purchasing the ammo to give to him. He was going to be shooting my gun under both my supervision and the supervision of the range officers at the base. At no time would he be in possession of any firearm or ammunition except when at a proper private (or government, rather) range while engaged in target shooting.

(B14) May a parent or guardian purchase firearms or ammunition as a gift for a juvenile (less than 18 years of age)? [Back]

Yes. However, possession of handguns by juveniles (less than 18 years of age) is generally unlawful. Juveniles generally may only receive and possess handguns with the written permission of a parent or guardian for limited purposes, e.g., employment, ranching, farming, target practice or hunting.

[18 U.S.C. 922(x)]

(3) This subsection does not apply to -
(A) a temporary transfer of a handgun or ammunition to a
juvenile or to the possession or use of a handgun or ammunition
by a juvenile if the handgun and ammunition are possessed and
used by the juvenile -
(i) in the course of employment, in the course of ranching or
farming related to activities at the residence of the juvenile
(or on property used for ranching or farming at which the
juvenile, with the permission of the property owner or lessee,
is performing activities related to the operation of the farm
or ranch), target practice, hunting, or a course of instruction
in the safe and lawful use of a handgun;

Note that the ATF FAQ doesn't say legal guardian. I was his guardian for the day. 18 U.S.C. 922(x) also seems to apply only to handguns and ammunition only suitable for use in handguns, so I'm not sure if shotgun ammunition is covered elsewhere.

State law doesn't really address ammunition at all, but it does state that:

No governing body of any county, municipality, or other political subdivision in the State may enact or promulgate any regulation or ordinance that regulates or attempts to regulate:

(1) the transfer, ownership, possession, carrying, or transportation of firearms, ammunition, components of firearms, or any combination of these things;

Yes, store policy allows them to refuse a sale to anyone, and I understand that. I take issue with the fact that the lovely woman behind the counter (smirking the whole time, BTW) and the manager that responded to her call actually stated that I was attempting to break the law, and I'm not so sure that's the case. If it is, I'll forget about it and consider it a lesson learned. They didn't sell me the ammo anyway.

Is there anyone around here that's more familiar with such situations who might be able to set me straight?

 

[kingpin008]

They're 100% wrong. There is no such thing as a "straw purchase" when dealing with ammo.

If it were me, I'd make a quick call to their supervisor/headquarters and let the higher-ups know what type of nonsense the employees are spouting to customers who were attempting to make a legal purchase.

 

[BhmBill]

As kingpin said, They're wrong and I'd give the supervisor a call.

Straw purchases only apply when buying from a dealer and the intended purchaser is prohibited from possessing said items (I don't think this even applies to ammo). They're 110% wrong. YOU were purchasing the ammo for yourself and it was the cousins privilege to shoot that ammo. I don't even think it's against the law for a minor to possess or own ammunition, just purchase it.

 

[Dex Sinister]

Walmart has a very bad habit of making up it's own laws. Hideous social nannyism.

But it's probably not "gun related" per se - the silly associate would probably have done the exact same thing if she overheard that you cousin was going to spray-paint something.

It's not illegal for minors to be given ammo any more than it is for them to be given spray paint. The purpose of the law is to require some adult supervision. The dimwit associate would probably think you were making a "straw-purchase movie ticket purchase" if you were the guardian of a child and you took them into an "R" rated movie.

Dex }:>=-

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

per the ATF:

What is a straw purchase?

A straw purchase is an illegal firearm purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm for him/her. It is highly illegal and punishable by a $250,000 fine and 10 years in prison.

http://www.dontlie.org/FAQ.cfm

 

[NavyLCDR]

Straw purchases only apply when buying from a dealer and the intended purchaser is prohibited from possessing said items (I don't think this even applies to ammo). They're 110% wrong. YOU were purchasing the ammo for yourself and it was the cousins privilege to shoot that ammo. I don't even think it's against the law for a minor to possess or own ammunition, just purchase it.

There are a couple of mistaken concepts in the above.

1. Straw purchase CAN apply to ammo.

2. The intended purchaser does NOT have to be prohibited from possessing said items. A straw purchase occurs when a false oral or written statement is made regarding a firearm or ammunition purchase from a dealer in order to deceive the dealer as to the real identity of the actual purchaser REGARDLESS of the legality of the actual purchaser to purchase and/or possess the firearm or ammunition themselves. In other words, a straw purchase can be made on behalf of another who IS perfectly legal to purchase and/or possess the item.

The statute that straw purchase violates is 18 USC 922(a)(6):

(6) for any person in connection with the acquisition or attempted acquisition of any firearm or ammunition from a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, knowingly to make any false or fictitious oral or written statement or to furnish or exhibit any false, fictitious, or misrepresented identification, intended or likely to deceive such importer, manufacturer, dealer, or collector with respect to any fact material to the lawfulness of the sale or other disposition of such firearm or ammunition under the provisions of this chapter;

That being said, the purchase that the OP attempted to make was absolutely NOT a straw purchase nor illegal by any stretch of the imagination. Only by a stretch of ignorance on the part of the WalMart staff