Aaron Alexis tried to buy assault rifle but was unable to

[The Straight Story]

Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis tried to buy an AR-15 assault rifle at a Virginia gun store last week after test firing one, but the store wouldn't sell it to him right away, CBS News has learned.

The reason for the refusal isn't clear.

Alexis then purchased a shotgun he used in his rampage, sources tell CBS News.

The owners of two gun stores in Virginia told CBS News Alexis would have been able to buy an AR-15, he just wouldn't have gotten it right away.

Anyone can buy the assault-style weapon in Virginia, but the dealer would have to observe the laws of the buyer's home state.

It appears unlikely Alexis was a Virginia resident. His last reported full-time residency was in Texas.

If the buyer is an out-of-state resident, the dealer would then ship the weapon to the buyer's home state where a background check would be conducted. At the time of purchase in Virginia, however, the buyer would have to show two proofs of residence with matching addresses and then a proof of citizenship. This is all according to federal law when it comes to sales of the AR-15, which are administered by the ATF.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57603416/aaron-alexis-tried-to-buy-assault-rifle-but-was-rebuffed/

[daybranch]

1. the capability of the gun matters

Can you imagine what he could have done if he had had an AR-15 with a bump feed stock , a 200 round drum and a number of magazines with thirty pr more rounds each? I am so happy Federal law prevebnrted this purchase. If it had not he could have added the stock and the magazines allowing him to fire hundreds of rounds a minute into a crowd of defenseless and innocent human beings, possibly killing scores or more of them. It is not the category assault weapons we must ban but the drums and magazines along with mechanism permitting very high rates of fire such as bump feed stocks.
There are plausibly valid reasons to buy an AR-15 such as home protection but no reason we should allow sales of the drums, high capacity magazines, or bump feed stocks and other ways to greatly increase the rate of fire. The biggest contributors to the NRA are manufacturers of high capacity magazines and or drums. Their sales should be our targets. They are totally unnecessary and in my opinion no better than heroin dealers. They give nothing of worth to society as they increase senseless killings. People may kill and how much they kill depends on the weapon used. Lets mount a campaign against these worthless dangers to our society.

[1-Old-Man]

2. I've got to call bullshit on this one. There are two reasons.

The first reason I have to call bullshit on this is that a gun dealer will sell you a gun if you have money. That is what gun dealers do. The guy behind the counter is not going to look at you and say, you've got shifty eyes so I'm willing to sell you this shot gun but not this rifle. It just don't work that way.

The second reason is that when the dealer calls in for an approval for you to buy a gun - the required Federal Firearms Check - no one cares what kind of gun you are trying to buy, only that you are trying to buy a gun. They do no approve or disapprove a request based on the gun, they do it based on the person.

Maybe there is a third reason to discount this nonsense too, it came from CBS News.

[The Straight Story]

3. From the NYT and link to the law:

WASHINGTON — The suspect in the killing of 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday test-fired an AR-15 assault rifle at a Virginia gun store last week but was stopped from buying one because state law there prohibits the sale of such weapons to out-of-state buyers, according to two senior law enforcement officials.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/us/state-law-stopped-gunman-from-buying-rifle-officials-say.html?_r=0

In addition, no dealer shall sell, rent, trade or transfer from his inventory any assault firearm to any person who is not a citizen of the United States or who is not a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence. To establish citizenship or lawful admission for a permanent residence for purposes of purchasing an assault firearm, a dealer shall require a prospective purchaser to present a certified birth certificate or a certificate of birth abroad issued by the United States State Department, a certificate of citizenship or a certificate of naturalization issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, an unexpired U.S. passport, a United States citizen identification card, a current voter registration card, a current selective service registration card, or an immigrant visa or other documentation of status as a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

B. 1. No dealer shall sell, rent, trade or transfer from his inventory any such firearm to any other person who is a resident of Virginia until he has (i) obtained written consent and the other information on the consent form specified in subsection A, and provided the Department of State Police with the name, birth date, gender, race, citizenship, and social security and/or any other identification number and the number of firearms by category intended to be sold, rented, traded or transferred and (ii) requested criminal history record information by a telephone call to or other communication authorized by the State Police and is authorized by subdivision 2 to complete the sale or other such transfer. To establish personal identification and residence in Virginia for purposes of this section, a dealer must require any prospective purchaser to present one photo-identification form issued by a governmental agency of the Commonwealth or by the United States Department of Defense, and other documentation of residence.

5. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, rifles and shotguns may be purchased by persons who are citizens of the United States or persons lawfully admitted for permanent residence but residents of other states under the terms of subsections A and B upon furnishing the dealer with proof of citizenship or status as a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence and one photo-identification form issued by a governmental agency of the person's state of residence and one other form of identification determined to be acceptable by the Department of Criminal Justice Services

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-308.2C2

[oldhippie]

4. Well, CBS has it wrong, again ....

There is no difference in federal or VA law ( see edit below) in buying an AR-15 or a shotgun. Same rules apply. Both are long guns.

Sales of AR-15s are not administered by the ATF (Actually the BATFE) any differently than any other non-NFA rifle or shotgun.

I do have to wonder what he showed for proof of residency on the Form 4473. There are provisions to transfer long gun (not handguns) to residents of other states, but it depends on the individual state's laws. There used to be a Federal provision for transfers to residents of adjacent states, but I believe the feds dropped that provision and now leave it up to the individual states.

In any case, something is missing here.

On edit: I stand corrected. Virginia law does treat AR-15s differently. It's not a Federal issue in this case, but state law. Each state is different.