I know that person to person sales are completely legal, but can you be held liable if the person you sell to turns out to be a felon? I have a gun that I'm looking to sell, and I know I can do better if I sell it myself rather than to a dealer. I just don't want to end up in legal trouble.

I would suggest checking with your states laws regarding private sales of firearms. Some states have particular laws dealing with this. Here in Illinois, the seller and buyer must exchange Firearms Owners Identification numbers, and keep that info for five years. As for being liable, best to check with you state regs. Good luck

VT in todays crazy legal society I would say YES you certainly can be held liable. If the person who bought your firearm did NOT have anykind of criminal record (spousal abuse while not necessarily a felony is usally reason enough to cause a denial on a 4473 in most states) prior to buying your gun, I would say you probably would be in the clear if something happened after the transfer. BUT you would still have to hire a lawyer and with time etc... it would cost you money. I suggest you go too the gunshop (FFL holder) you normally do business with. If you are a routine customer I would think they would allow you to do the 4473 (used to be the yellow sheets, but since replaced with a new white "long form") and only charge you whatever the local/state authorities charge you. In my state (TN) the state charges the dealer $10 for the check, regardless of outcome. It's hard to tell a denial that he still owes $10 but that's the breaks! In the worst case scenario if you were some blow off the street and the dealer didn't know you but still would offer to do the check I would think $25 (including the fee) wouldn't be out of line. By doing it that way the liability is off you and you won't be holding your breath for the next 20 years if you sell your guns too a complete stranger. If they (the buyer) aren't willing to do a 4473 in the first place then you don't want to sell it to such a person in the first place.

Good luck,
RA