Straw purchase
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A straw purchase is a situation in which a buyer uses an intermediary (a "straw purchaser") through which to acquire one or more firearms from a licensed firearms dealer. The purpose is to hide the identity of the true purchaser or ultimate possessor of the firearm(s). Straw purchases and theft are the most common ways that prohibited people, such as convicted felons, obtain firearms.
In the United States, straw purchases are a felony violation of the Gun Control Act of 1968 for both the straw purchaser and ultimate possessor.
Source: atf.gov (http://www.atf.gov/field/philadelphia/press/050101straw.htm)
Famous straw purchases
- Robyn Anderson for Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre.
- Noted anti-gun activist Sarah Brady, founder of The Brady Campaign, f/k/a Gun Control, Inc., purchased a powerful Remington .30-06 rifle with a scope and safety lock at a Lewes, Delaware gun shop, for her son, James Brady, Jr., 'as a Christmas present' in 2000. According to Delaware Justice Department spokeswoman Lori Sitler, this purchase was a 'straw purchase'. Brady self-confessed her crime in her book, A Good Fight.