Okay, maybe I'm just paranoid... Remove my prints before selling?

[Frank RW]

lol. Allow me to spill my thoughts onto e-paper as I prep some guns-n-ammo for sale.

I'm standing here, watching TV, wiping down bullets and bang-toys thinking...
Well, I sure don't want this to show up at some crime-scene later with any of my biology [fingerprints, dna, skin etc.] on it!

Then I chuckled. Silly me.

A few seconds later thinking about it, maybe doing so could save me a lot of heart-ache.


So, am I just paranoid?

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[nehalemguy]

Yes.... that is some paranoid bubblegum right there.

Remember that private firearm sales "require" a background check. That is your get out of jail free card.


-E-

 

[DirectDrive]

If you have a concealed carry, your prints are in the data base anyway.
(or any other prints you have donated to the gubmint over the years)

 

[OldBroad44]

Good idea. I think i'll make a point of wiping gun, putting it in box or gun case or folded towel, then handing to buyer. Thanks.


Sure, if the gun showed up as the murder weapon next to the body your prints would be identified if you have a CHL. But if there are no other prints on the gun, the gun with your prints might have arisen at least three ways. Someone else did murder with the gun bearing your prints left from before gun transfer. You did murder; you and new owner lied about transferring the gun; you kept gun. Or maybe since you knew the new owners address you simply went to his house and stole the gun back, and used it to commit a murder. The prints wouldn't prove you murdered anyone, as they would seem to if you hadn't ever handled the gun legitimately. But they don't prove you're innocent either. They leave you messing involved. Far better if you transfer all guns without prints. Easier on detectives too if gun ever is stolen or turns up on crime scene. Stray finger prints certainly can't help.

 

[Frank RW]

prints being in the database (which were there long before i got into guns) makes it even more sensible to wipe-b4-parting.

doesn't really apply to me, but not all States require a background check for private sales. then there's bullets, knives, airguns, etc.

Especially considering how many strangers buy my junk.

 

[Howard1955]

No, you're not being paranoid.

If your fingerprints turn up in a homicide investigation, for example, you would probably be able to prove the transfer of a firearm - but not of ammunition.

Even if you could prove your innocence, the hassle and stress of the experience is probably something you want to avoid.

 

[cigars]

Wipe it down good with CLP and wear rubber gloves. Wear rubber gloves for the transaction as well. Trust nobody. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet, especially Cigars.

 

[Frank RW]

Even if you could prove your innocence, the hassle and stress of the experience is probably something you want to avoid.

Yup, I'm innocent, but sure don't want to have to prove it. Can get costly too, just for the "inquiry". I know I sure wouldn't talk to anyone before hiring a lawyer.

 

[DirectDrive]

If your prints are in the data base, have you ever thought about the following :

What if my print on one finger or thumb has a similarity to a criminal's print ?
I have and it kept me from getting a CHL for a long time.

 

[TTSX]

What's the movie where the bad guy murdered someone, then put the good guy's prints on the inside of the firearm? Got him framed pretty good.

 

[Member 53328]

Paranoid. Yes. If you are selling a firearm privately and legally it will go through an FFL. At which point you have a stamped time and date that it is no longer in your possession. If it's not in your possession how can you commit a crime with it? Sure they may come talk to you. But unless your some mastermind trying to sell to a buddy as a straw purchase to have it given back to you to use in a crime then I wouldn't worry about it. Now if you have murdered someone and no one knows about and you are selling said gun that was used in the crime then yes wipe your prints…. Lol.

 

[OldBroad44]

I wonder what fraction of convicted murderers are innocent because they got framed.

 

[Member 53328]

On a side not how about all the guns you handle in a gun shop and don't buy? Unless you're one of those weirdos who walk around with 2 masks on and latex gloves as cover….. lol

 

[CountryGent]

This is something I cannot see losing any sleep over.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Wipe it down good with CLP and wear rubber gloves. Wear rubber gloves for the transaction as well. Trust nobody. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet, especially Cigars.

I never walk into a room I can't walk out of.

 

[Knobgoblin]

I wonder what fraction of convicted murderers are innocent because they got framed.

I don't know about "proper " framed.
But there are plenty of people convicted on circumstantial evidence when the DA needs a case solved quickly. Usually when publicity is a factor.

I don't wipe my prints off anything. In fact , inside both my nostrils are millions of overlapping fingerprints.

 

[Frank RW]

On a side not how about all the guns you handle in a gun shop and don't buy? Unless you're one of those weirdos who walk around with 2 masks on and latex gloves as cover….. lol

Oh great. Thanks. Hadn't thought of that, but I rarely buy from a shop. Eh, skip the middle-man, buy direct.

 

[OldBroad44]

If your prints are in the data base, have you ever thought about the following :

What if my print on one finger or thumb has a similarity to a criminal's print ?
I have and it kept me from getting a CHL for a long time.

I think there was a guy (in Portland?) who was charged with something based on a fingerprint that was too close. Something it turned out he couldn't possibly have done. A few years ago. Anyone remember the case?

Actually, fingerprint evidence meant a lot more when they were only being compared to other suspects or other people in the region. Not to every finger print on record in the world. And its a matter of subjective interpretation as to whether two prints are similar enough to be considered the same. I think there will be a serious scientific study one of these years, and we will end up deciding that finger print evidence is now being over interpreted in the direction of convicting innocents. As has already been shown with eye witness testimony. Too many men have been convicted of rapes or murders and served decades, and their DNA turned out to be totally different from the the DNA left on/in the victim. And usually they were convicted on eye witness testimony.

 

[wollzy]

If you are doing a transfer in Oregon I wouldn't be too worried about it. You will have a record of the transfer as will the FFL. Also if your prints are on it so are the clerks who handled the transfer at the FFL. They would be in the same boat. Unless you sold it to someone close to you and they used the firearm on someone you also knew, it seems unlikely the police would spend much time pursuing you as a suspect.

 

[OldBroad44]

If you have a concealed carry, your prints are in the data base anyway.
(or any other prints you have donated to the gubmint over the years)

I was born an Air Force brat, so I've always been in the system. ID cards for military spouses and offspring carry thumb prints. Or at least used to. But not full ten-finger prints like Oregon CHPs.