Of course it’s more difficult to buy from a licensed dealer – for guns, booze, cigarettes, you name it – than from some schmo. How could it be otherwise?

It’s still illegal to sell a gun (or booze) to a person under 21. McNair apparently gave her the gun as a gift, which is an exception created to allow parents to give guns to their children. It’s imperfect, but it’s imperfect in the way I prefer, which is to avoid turning honest citizens into criminals for passing a family heirloom down to their kids, for instance.

not being an Iowa resident, but being intricately familiar with the state and its laws, I feel secure in stating – for the record – that Iowa’s laws on firearms and firearms ownership are far closer to California’s than they are to Tennessee’s or any state in the Southeast or (or other Western states).

the rules cited are for IA, which may be different that TN. Since we have to file with the sheriff in another state for reciprocity I had figured the sheriff rule must be pretty standard.

http://franklinkoolaid.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-contend-that-if-metro-police-would.html

I’m guessing it goes something like this:

*knock* *knock*

PD: Sir, a gun that traces to you was used in a murder last night. Could you give us some idea as to the whereabouts of the gun?

PI: Well, yes, I bought that gun years ago, but some weeks ago I sold it to a pretty olive skinned girl.

PD: Is this the girl sir? *showing picture*

PI: Yeah, that’s her.

PD: Thank you for your time.

Of course, I’m going to bet she bought it from someone she knows, rather than a stranger.

You can own and buy a long gun after you are 18.

In this state it is illegal to sell your handgun to anyone who does not have a permit to buy or carry issued by the sheriff of the county you (the buyer) resides in. You can sell to an FFL, but that has its own attendant rules and regulation that preclude anyone 21 years or younger from having the FFL.