Reading Between the lines in the VA Universal Background Check Law

Posted by: Scolex

Reading Between the lines in the VA Universal Background Check Law - 08/03/22 09:32 PM

https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter7/section18.2-308.2:5/

Quote:
A. No person shall sell a firearm for money, goods, services or anything else of value unless he has obtained verification from a licensed dealer in firearms that information on the prospective purchaser has been submitted for a criminal history record information check as set out in § 18.2-308.2:2 and that a determination has been received from the Department of State Police that the prospective purchaser is not prohibited under state or federal law from possessing a firearm or such sale is specifically exempted by state or federal law.


Based on that part of the code, the way I read it is "no individual may sell a firearm to another individual without first verifying through a FFL that the buyer is not prohibited from owning firearms".

What it doesn't say is "all transfers must go through an FFL"

So, with that being said, Can I just take another person to a FFL and have the FFL conduct a background check to determine if the person is prohibited or not, without having to put any firearms on the books?



Another example: I buy a firearm from an FFL. I then want to buy a firearm from a private individual the next day. Can that individual contact the FFL, and ask to confirm if I conducted a purchase from their shop, and was the purchase cleared? Would that be sufficient proof that I am not a prohibited person?
Posted by: k3armory

Re: Reading Between the lines in the VA Universal Background Check Law - 08/23/22 08:29 PM

Negative. For several reasons:

1. We can't run the a background check without a completed and signed VA SP-65 form. The purchaser's signature on that form acts as their required legal consent for us to perform the check.
2. The SP-65 requires the type and quantity and type of firearm(s) the purchaser is transferring to be indicated.
3. The SP-65 can't be edited after the check - therefore you couldn't change/add additional firearms later. Or use a previous SP-65/check for purposes of a later transfer.
4. The SP-65 has to be completed in conjunction with (aka same time as) the Federal Form 4473. The 4473 form requires firearm make, model, serial, etc.
5. I think you get the point...

No SP-65 without prior signature > no SP-65 without firearm specifics > no SP-65 without 4473 > no 4473 without firearm specifics.

TL;DR: Background checks can only be performed in-person for the transfer of specific firearm(s) at the time they are being transferred.
Posted by: Scolex

Re: Reading Between the lines in the VA Universal Background Check Law - 08/30/22 12:51 PM

Thank you for the detailed response!