Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 119
6. Will my juvenile record prevent me from purchasing and
possessing a firearm?
Generally, if any person, including a juvenile, has been convicted
of a crime that carries a punishment of imprisonment for more
than one year, then that person will not be permitted to purchase
a firearm under federal law unless their firearm rights are restored.
In Texas, juvenile adjudications of delinquent conduct are not
convictions and therefore are not disqualifying under federal law.
See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g); and United States v. Walters, 359 F.3d 340
(4th Cir. 2004).
IV. UNDERSTANDING “PRIVATE SALES” LAWS
A. What are the legal restrictions on “private sales” of firearms?
Private individuals may legally buy, sell, gift, or otherwise transfer
firearms to another private individual in Texas. However, when
doing so, careful attention needs to be paid to not violate the laws
regulating these transactions. So, what are the legal restrictions?
First, the ATF website has an informative pamphlet entitled “Best
Practices: Transfers of Firearms by Private Sellers” located on its
website. https://www.atf.gov/file/58681/download. This pamphlet
should be a must-read before entering into a “private sale”
transaction involving a firearm. So, what are the rules in Texas
regarding private sales?
1. Residency requirements
In order for the private sale of a firearm to be legal in Texas, both
parties must reside in the same state. This means, for our purposes,
that both the buyer and seller of the firearm must be Texas residents.
Similarly, under federal law, an unlicensed (non-dealer) may only
“transfer” a firearm to another unlicensed person in the same state.
This means that if a person is a resident of Texas, federal law
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