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Author Topic: What's the Deal with Bills of Sale?  (Read 5778 times)

Offline Mali

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Re: What's the Deal with Bills of Sale?
« Reply #40 on: August 25, 2017, 01:45:39 PM »
For those claiming that a Bill of Sale has no legal standing check out this quote:
 
Quote
Stebbing faces two counts of falsifying a bill of sale, two counts of filing false Nebraska income tax returns and one count of acting as an unlicensed dealer, according to the complaint.

SourceL http://journalstar.com/news/local/911/lancaster-county-treasurer-stebbing-charged-with-five-felonies/article_5dd1bdab-350d-5f0d-8011-cd9f9929caf1.html

So here is the Lancaster County Treasurer being charged for falsifying a Bill of Sale. Sounds like a valid BoS has legal validity as well.
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Offline Kendahl

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Re: What's the Deal with Bills of Sale?
« Reply #41 on: August 25, 2017, 05:41:46 PM »
If a bill of sale contains nothing but a couple of illegible signatures, I can see Laufen's point. However, it's quite different if it shows name, address and driver's license number for both buyer and seller. The driver's license has a photo so you know that it belongs to the person with whom you are dealing. If the sale is of a handgun, Nebraska also requires the buyer to hold either a concealed handgun permit or a handgun certificate (issued by the county sheriff and not good for concealed carry). I don't know about handgun certificates but my CHP has a serial number and my photo. If I were involved in the transaction, I would run the other person's driver's license and permit through my scanner.

A well documented bill of sale serves two purposes. First, it shows that you exercised due diligence to avoid buying stolen goods or selling to a prohibited person. Second, it provides a paper trail for police to use if there is a problem. The last thing a bad guy will want to provide is information that would lead police straight to him. Hypothetically, someone could fool you with forgeries of both driver's license and permit but that takes more effort than most crooks are willing to exert.

Offline Mntnman

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Re: What's the Deal with Bills of Sale?
« Reply #42 on: August 25, 2017, 06:18:40 PM »
If you sell to someone and they do bad with it, it is not your fault if you didn't have any indications. Heck, do you check driving records when you sell a car? You would sell a car to a 14 time drunk driver without thinking twice! (Yes, they are out there)

As for it protecting you, it may or may not. Anyone can be turned into a criminal by zealots. I would fear a jury of today's citizens, even in Nebraska.

Offline justsomeguy

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Re: What's the Deal with Bills of Sale?
« Reply #43 on: August 26, 2017, 01:02:15 PM »
Hell, after reading this thread, I would fear a jury of NFOA members.
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Offline JTH

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Re: What's the Deal with Bills of Sale?
« Reply #44 on: August 27, 2017, 04:20:59 PM »
Why do so many private citizens place an unnecessary burden on themselves for a piece of paper that has zero validity in a court of law?  Private citizens are not required to record an individuals information for transfer of a firearm.   Why do so many of you do this?

The problem in the thread is that the OP's initial comment was factually incorrect (his "zero validity in a court of law" statement) after which every time someone else pointed out that he was wrong, he changed his argument to something else.  He also kept repeating the "Bills of sale provide zero legal protection" statement numerous times, as if saying it more would make it true.

He started with that untrue oft-repeated statement, followed it with "Second, it is not required that you investigate the person you are selling to.  You may not sell to a person that you know is a felon, but you are not required to dig into the person's background" which isn't true, added "if a crime were committed with the firearm, and you didn't commit the crime...VOILA!  You're innocent" which might not be true because theft-by-recieving is a thing.

One of the things he also did was keep changing the topic--from "zero legal protection so it doesn't help" to "..not required to keep or dispense any personal data in the sale of a firearm."  (Which not only isn't true in part, but is a different argument.)

For example, later he says:  "Neither Federal, state, nor local law requires me to write personal information of a buyer or seller on a scrap of paper when I dispose of a firearm."

....which is a true statement.  However, that doesn't make anything said prior to that true.

Nebraska law requires (when selling a handgun) that the seller verifies that the buyer has either a purchase permit or a CHP (which means you also need their ID to check against the info on the purchase permit or CHP).  No, you don't have to write that down if you are selling a firearm---but it is considerable legal protection if you can provide to a court a bill of sale in which you, the seller, can show that prior to the sale, you not only checked that information, but wrote down their name, driver's license number, and purchase permit number or CHP number.  (Because that proves you followed the law, and therefore can't be charged with illegally selling the firearm.)  What happens AFTER that legal sale is not your responsibility--and you can show it was a legal sale.

So Laufen started by making an untrue statement and added it to a question about something you don't have to do, but should.  His followups later changed the topic from "should do this" to "you don't have to do this" which confused the issues nicely.

I have no comment as to his reasons for doing so regarding Nebraska laws while he lives in Georgia.

justsomeguy--I'm pretty sure that a jury of NFOA members would be fine, because one of the things that happens with a jury is that the law is explained pretty clearly prior to their judging if it was broken.
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Offline Mali

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Re: What's the Deal with Bills of Sale?
« Reply #45 on: August 28, 2017, 09:11:56 PM »
Hell, after reading this thread, I would fear a jury of NFOA members.
A jury made of NFOA members would probably be pretty well thought out. I would be wanting Mr. JTHapkido on my jury 'cause he actually thinks.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. - Ronald Reagan