Registering a handgun under this circumstance

[djshakes]

My friend came by the other day and we got to talking. Somehow the discussion moved to guns and it reminded him of a gun he had in his car. His father died recently and had a bunch of WW2 memorabilia. My friend has kids and wanted to get his dad's handgun out of the house. He was driving around with it wrapped in a towel for a couple days!!! DUH!. He gave it to me and told me to get rid of it or sell it. It is a .22 Sentinal revolver. I told him I would give him $50 for it and we is cool with that. Does he need to be present when I register it or can I say my father gave it to me and I want to register it. I don't know how to decipher the date code, not that it matters.

[dotalchemy]

It's a handgun, so as far as I'm aware, it doesn't fall under the usual exemption for C&R firearms, which in CA only applies to long guns.

You'll need to do a PPT at an FFL and have the gun DROS'd to you.

I may be wrong, doubtless that smarter minds will chime in here.

[BannedinBritain]

My friend came by the other day and we got to talking. Somehow the discussion moved to guns and it reminded him of a gun he had in his car. His father died recently and had a bunch of WW2 memorabilia. My friend has kids and wanted to get his dad's handgun out of the house. He was driving around with it wrapped in a towel for a couple days!!! DUH!. He gave it to me and told me to get rid of it or sell it. It is a .22 Sentinal revolver. I told him I would give him $50 for it and we is cool with that. Does he need to be present when I register it or can I say my father gave it to me and I want to register it. I don't know how to decipher the date code, not that it matters.

Well...you and your friend need to go to an FFL and do a PPT. Earliest Sentinals were manufactured in the mid fifties...so you only have a handful of years that qualify for C&R status (yes, C&R status applies to handguns as well...but unlike long guns, C&R handguns must be transferred through an FFL).

[Glock22Fan]

It's a handgun, so as far as I'm aware, it doesn't fall under the usual exemption for C&R firearms, which in CA only applies to long guns.

You'll need to do a PPT at an FFL and have the gun DROS'd to you.

I may be wrong, doubtless that smarter minds will chime in here.

Right.

No big problem with whether your friend turns up at the DROS as the seller or not, they are (AFAIK) far more concerned with getting the firearm registered now than they are about where it comes from (unless it is listed as stolen).

[wash]

Take it to an FFL for PPT. Your friend will need to go too.

[BannedinBritain]

Right.

No big problem with whether your friend turns up at the DROS as the seller or not, they are (AFAIK) far more concerned with getting the firearm registered now than they are about where it comes from (unless it is listed as stolen).

There must be a seller present (or seller can drop off firearm at FFL for PPT to buyer at a later time) with CA ID or military ID and orders. The only alternative would be for him to falsify a form and not use an FFL...which is a good thing to do if he wishes to risk his 2A rights for $16 (the difference between the $35 PPT fee and the $19 paper registration fee)

[morrcarr67]

Though the comments are all true above I don't know of anyone who filled out the VolReg form that has been prosecuted for not doing a PPT.

And, if you answer all the question properly you wouldn't be falsifying anything.

Again, not saying you couldn't be prosecuted.

[Barbarossa]

I don't know of anyone who filled out the VolReg form that has been prosecuted for not doing a PPT.
Again, not saying you couldn't be prosecuted.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=429738

It again appears there are individuals who "just don't get it".
In CA, if you're transferring a gun between two parties, 99% of the time it's gotta run thru a CA FFL.

Nevertheless, seems there's folks (members of Darwin's Single-Cell Brain Trust) doing FFL-free "PPTs". They're either using the DOJ VolReg or handgun importation forms to 'paper' their guns post-transfer.

Keep it clean. Regardles of what you think is right/what you can get away with, you're putting the situation at risk.

[Librarian]

Though the comments are all true above I don't know of anyone who filled out the VolReg form that has been prosecuted for not doing a PPT.

And, if you answer all the question properly you wouldn't be falsifying anything.

Again, not saying you couldn't be prosecuted.

The likelihood of detection and prosecution is not the issue. There's a simple and easily available right way to make the transfer.

Following the law is like preventive health maintenance - avoiding the problem altogether.

VOLREG is more like antibiotics - an attempt to cure an existing problem.

[wash]

VOLREG is more like taking cipro because you think you might come in to contact with anthrax spores.

It will look really bad if anyone looks at it very hard.

In many cases it is essentially creating proof that you participated in an illegal transfer.

Why do that? What if the serial comes up as stolen when they run the papers?

Just PPT it the right way and forget about it.

[morrcarr67]

The likelihood of detection and prosecution is not the issue. There's a simple and easily available right way to make the transfer.

Following the law is like preventive health maintenance - avoiding the problem altogether.

VOLREG is more like antibiotics - an attempt to cure an existing problem.

Did you read the OP?

My friend came by the other day and we got to talking. Somehow the discussion moved to guns and it reminded him of a gun he had in his car. His father died recently and had a bunch of WW2 memorabilia. My friend has kids and wanted to get his dad's handgun out of the house. He was driving around with it wrapped in a towel for a couple days!!! DUH!. He gave it to me and told me to get rid of it or sell it. It is a .22 Sentinal revolver. I told him I would give him $50 for it and we is cool with that. Does he need to be present when I register it or can I say my father gave it to me and I want to register it. I don't know how to decipher the date code, not that it matters.

From the sounds of it he has already paid for AND taken possession of it.

If you ask me he needs a good shot of antibiotics.

[aklover_91]

No he didn't, he left it wit his friend until he knew for sure.

Regardless of what may have hypothetically happened, it's just as easy to do it either way. You can make the paper trail look fishy, or take it to a dealer and do a PPT. I know which I'd do.

[wash]

VOLREG isn't the type of antibiotics he needs.

If his friend is still around, no one is going to check to see when the transaction happened because as far as California knows it hasn't happened yet.

If he does a VOLREG instead of a PPT, that is him admitting that he obtained the handgun illegally. That is a really stupid thing to do.

If he can't PPT for some reason and he expects to have the serial number run by the police, he should wipe down the gun and throw it in to the nearest deep body of water.

[dantodd]

Do the legal thing and have your friend PPT it to you. lying on a form and saying your dad gave it to you is really really bad.

And the stupidity of posting to an Internet forum that many law enforcement types like to read asking if people thing it is OK for you to lie on a form or break the transfer laws in CA is only exceeded by those who sit there from the safety of their "anonymous" accounts and advocate you break the law.

Your post suggests pretty clearly that you know exactly what the law calls for in this case, now get your friend down to an FFL and follow the law.

Yes, it sucks to pay a $35 fee to transfer a $50 gun but until we can get the laws fixed that is exactly what you have to do.