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Buying Guns As Christmas Gifts, Is It Legal?

FORT SMITH (KFSM)–Kelly Womack is the co-owner of Fort Chaffee Outfitters. She says you can legally buy a gun for someone as a Christmas present. “We sold...

FORT SMITH (KFSM)--Kelly Womack is the co-owner of Fort Chaffee Outfitters. She says you can legally buy a gun for someone as a Christmas present.

“We sold over 40 guns on Black Friday and a lot of those were gifts," Womack said. "What we didn`t sell in guns, we sold in accessories, which were gifts.”

Anyone buying a gun has to fill out a Firearms Transaction Record, or Form 4473. It asks questions about citizenship, criminal history and mental health.

“This is federal law,” Womack said.

It’s a federal felony to give a gun to someone you know legally can’t have one, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Womack said it's also federal offense if the person you're buying a gun for gives you anything in return.

“If Mr. Smith asked Mr. Jones to purchase a firearm for Mr. Smith, and Mr. Smith gives Mr. Jones the money for the firearm, that`s clearly not a gift,” Womack said.

David Johnson said he's been shooting guns with his dad since he was 12 years old. He said he's thankful there's no law prohibiting giving firearms as a gift in the same state.

“I`m getting my AR-15 kind of customized up, and then I`m looking for a Christmas present that I hope my parents will eventually buy me,” Johnson said.

You can also give someone a gift card for a gun so they can come into the store and get the proper background check themselves.

If you're buying a gun for someone who lives in a different state, you need to check the gun laws there.

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