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by YetAnotherNick 955 days ago
Not American, and curious about the checks required for different weapons. I get lot of contradictory information online.

Also read in many places buying illegally is easy. How true is that?

2 comments

To purchase a firearm from a store or any "licensed" individual (someone who has an FFL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Firearms_License) you must pass a background check done by the FBI. You can read more here: https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-an...

If you buy a gun from someone on a classifieds site or friend/family, in most states you don't have to get a background check to transfer ownership of the firearm. This is typically the "loophole" that people refer to when they want Universal Background Checks.

I'm not sure what you mean by buying illegally - whether you mean to someone prohibited from owning firearms (like a felon or something), or buying "illegal" guns... Either way there are usually stiff penalties for owning restricted devices. For example if I were to 3D print an auto-sear for an AR-15 (making it full-auto), that's a ticket to a 10 year sentence in federal prison. Assuming I don't have the permission slip from the ATF. As for prohibited persons buying a firearm, I'm not sure what the penalties are, but at the least it'd be a violation of their release?

Buying legally in the US isn't that hard to make it worth it to buy illegally unless you are a broke teenager buying one to try and "look cool and tough" to your friends.
> Buying legally in the US isn't that hard to make it worth it to buy illegally unless you are a broke teenager

Or unless you have a felony, which would make up a much larger share of illegall firearm purchases than teenagers.

> unless you are a broke teenager buying one to try and "look cool and tough

Or unless, of course, you're a criminal who is forbidden from legally buying a gun.