geoff40
Member
Refund his money. Under no circumstances would I give him the revolver. You don't want to lose your gun rights over this. He probably needs the money for his lawyer anyway.
I retired from the Dept of Corr in Madison about 3 years ago and am acquainted with the WCCA website. I looked on it for this guy and like I wrote a couple of days ago the only conviction was for 'driving under the influence' which is a misdemeanor, not a felony. The other entries are for charges only, not convictions so legally he can still own a gun since state law says 'innocent until proven guilty'.
I went to the police dept in his town this morning, told them the situation and they said to wait until he calls me. Then I will tell him the deal is off as I had changed my mind about selling and I will return his money preferably by mailing a cashier's check to him. They said if he gives me any difficulty to give them a call and, that they couldn't care less about the gun, they just didn't think he should have it.
It is perfectly legal for a Wisconsin resident to sell another Wisc resident a handgun without a background check, it happens at gunshows here all of the time. I also do not believe he was looking for a gun to buy 'illegally', he was just an opportunist (Believe me, you had to have been there). The guy came in on a $3,000 carbon-fiber racing bicycle wearing spandex bicycle clothes and absolutely no room to carry anything except 2 water bottles. Does this look like someone looking for illegal firearms to buy ? I don't think so.
If I was in your shoes I call the police department explain the situation and get there advice on how to handle it. I have a feeling they well tell you to refund his money or turn the gun over to them.
Second was not checking for a valid ID to make sure the buyer was not from out of state. Gun laws falls within state jurisdiction not federal. Federal laws apply if weapons cross state lines.