Honesty in Purchasing Firearms Act Exposed

The Honesty in Purchasing Firearms Act was considered by ALEC's Public Safety and Elections Task Force at the 2011 Annual Meeting on August 4, 2011. This bill was part of the ALEC task force agenda between 2010 and 2012, but due to incomplete information, it is not known if the bill passed in a vote by legislators and lobbyists at ALEC task force meetings, if ALEC sought to distance itself from the bill as the public increased scrutiny of its pay-to-play activities, or if key operative language from the bill has been introduced by an ALEC legislator in a state legislature in the ensuing period or became binding law.

ALEC Draft Bill Text

Summary

This Act makes it a felony to knowingly deceive a licensed dealer of firearms in order to purchase or transfer firearms.

Legislation

{Title, enacting clause, etc.}

Section 1. {Title}

This Act may be cited as the “Honesty in Purchasing Firearms Act”

Section 2. {Definitions}

(A) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Licensed dealer” means a person who is licensed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 923 [and citation to state firearm dealer licensing provision] to engage in the business of dealing in firearms.

(2) “Private seller” means a person who sells or offers for sale any firearm, as defined in [citation to state code provision defining “firearm”], or ammunition.

(3) “Ammunition” means any cartridge, shell, or projectile designed for use in a firearm.

(4) “Materially false information” means information that portrays an illegal transaction as legal or a legal transaction as illegal.

Section 3. {Purchasing Firearms}

(A) Any person who knowingly solicits, persuades, encourages or entices a licensed dealer or private seller of firearms or ammunition to transfer a firearm or ammunition under circumstances which the person knows would violate the laws of this state or the United States is guilty of a felony.

(B) Any person who provides to a licensed dealer or private seller of firearms or ammunition what the persons knows to be materially false information with intent to deceive the dealer or seller about the legality of a transfer of a firearm or ammunition is guilty of a felony.

(C) Any person who willfully procures another to engage in conduct prohibited by this section shall be held accountable as a principal.

(D) This section does not apply to a law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity or to a person acting at the direction of such law enforcement officer.

(E) A violation of this section is punishable by a fine not to exceed $5,000, a term of imprisonment not to exceed five years, or both such fine and imprisonment.

Section 4. {Severability Clause}

Section 5. {Repealer Clause}

Section 6. {Effective Date}