U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES IN ABRAMSKI STRAW-PURCHASE CASE

A narrowly-divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the federal ban on “straw” purchases of guns can be enforced even if the ultimate buyer is legally allowed to own firearm. The justices ruled 5-4 that the law applied to a man who purchased a firearm on behalf of his uncle, using funds provided by the uncle, with the intention of giving the gun to his uncle who was not prohibited from owning firearms.

The case began after Bruce James Abramski bought a handgun in Virginia, in 2009 on behalf of his uncle using his uncle’s money and later transferred it to him in Pennsylvania through a firearms retailer after a background check of the uncle. Abramski, a former police officer, had assured the Virginia dealer he was the “actual buyer” of the weapon even though he was really acting on his uncle’s behalf but buying the gun using a police discount available to him. —courtesy National Shooting Sports Foundation