The latest US Supreme Court opinion on guns; Abramski v. US

Yesterday SCOTUS issued an opinion that has received a bit of media attention simply for the fact that in the 5-4 ruling the anti gun wing of the court held sway over what the law actually says.

Abramski legally purchased a firearm for his uncle who is also legally permitted to own a firearm. The government contended that Abramski engaged in a straw purchase and lied on the gun purchase form which is illegal, because his uncle gave him the money to buy the gun before Abramski purchased the firearm. Despite the plain language of the statute and despite the government’s concession that people are allowed to gift guns, resell guns and buy guns to give away in a raffle, the court upheld Mr. Abramski’s criminal conviction. Do not try to make sense of the majority opinion because it does not make sense unless you want to appear to be doing something to “get tough on guns.”.

The bottom line is: Don’t have someone give you money to purchase a gun before you make the purchase or like Mr. Abramski you may find yourself in trouble with a misapplication of law.