The term “straw purchase” is a type of gun crime often used in reference to buying a firearm illegally. More specifically, it is when you go into a gun store and buy a firearm for a person who is legally prohibited from buying or possessing one. The reason the prohibited person might do this is fairly straightforward. He or she would be unable to honestly complete the process.
When you buy a firearm, you have to fill out a form and answer questions showing that you are legally allowed to buy and possess a firearm. The gun dealer then submits the form for review by the FBI, specifically by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Checks System, or NICS for short, to review your criminal record.
The term has been in the news recently because the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago filed charges this week against an Indiana man for conspiring to straw purchase a handgun that was used in the shooting of two Chicago police officers, an incident that left one officer severely injured and the other dead.
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