In a South Carolina gun store, former President Donald Trump admired a handgun and exclaimed: “I want to buy one.”
In the now-deleted video, the former president said: “Wow,” he said looking at a Glock brand pistol in the since-deleted video. “And they sell well?” he asked.
“Isn't Glock a great gun?” Trump asked, at which point someone off-screen confirmed: “A very good gun.”
However, Trump would be breaking the law if he purchased or possessed a firearm because he is currently being investigated under felony indictment and has been Charged with 91 felonies in two federal and two state indictments this year.
On Monday, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung took to social media to say that the former president had purchased a Glock; however, another Trump staffer clarified that he had not purchased the gun, and the previous post was deleted.
Would Trump Commit a Crime if He Bought a Glock?
Federal law prohibits people from buying or owning guns who use illegal drugs and have been convicted or charged with a felony.
When someone buys a gun from a licensed dealer, the customer has to fill out an ATF 4473 form, which asks them whether the purchaser is addicted to illegal drugs or has been charged with a crime that a judge could send them to prison for longer than a year, warning those signing the legally binding document that answering yes to any of these questions would bar them from gun ownership.
Whether Trump has been entered into the FBI NICS database that gun stores use to conduct instant background checks on potential customers is unknown. However, if the former president had been able to complete the purchase, he would have broken multiple laws, including lying on an ATF 4473 form, which is punishable by up to ten years in prison.
In September last year, a Trump-appointed District Judge in Texas, David Counts, ruled that it is unconstitutional to block customers under felony indictment from buying or possessing guns.
Republicans Back Cannabis Users Purchasing Firearms
In addition to court challenges, several Republican Congressmen have publically aimed at restrictions on gun ownership for people who use recreational drugs, such as cannabis.
Kentucky representative Thomas Massie, who has backed legislation allowing marijuana users to own firearms without lying on the federal form, told the HuffPost, “You should be able to toke and still tote.”
In August, President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, was charged with lying on ATF form 4473 and illegal possession of a firearm after answering “no” to the drug question on the form while addicted to crack cocaine when he purchased a Colt revolver from a Delawaregun store in October 2018.
Speaking to the HuffPost, a representative from the Palmetto State Armory in Summerville said the former president had visited the shop but did not buy anything.
Source: Yahoo
