Your FFL is maybe partly right. He sure as hell has no reason to require a passport from the seller. Many people do not have nor have ever had a passport. However, I think he needs some identification from the seller, for HIS records. He does NOT need an FFL, from the seller's end, though some ignoramuses are wrongly insisting on it. Logically speaking, the receiving FFL's real function is to legally transfer the gun to you, the buyer and do whatever background checks(on you) that may be required. IMO, the seller could be Ted Bundy and it really wouldn't matter. However, to make things smoother for a buyer, I now always include a picture of my driver's license and my C&R, along with the gun I'm selling. If that's not good enough for your FFL, take your business elsewhere. Any demands beyond that are flat wrong.
I really wish there was a place you could report these abuses by FFLs. However, the typical bureaucratic clerk you'd get to talk to would probably know less about the fine points of the rules than some of the paranoid FFLs out there. Here in Utah, I've had good experiences with the FFLs I've dealt with but I know there are some real dingbats out there. Good luck.
Last edited by Jim Legg; 09/20/10 04:50 PM.
