Opinion ID: 2645608
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Attempted Firearm Purchase

Text: In November 2011, Defendant Cameron and Allison Gornail visited Shooters of Jacksonville (“Shooters”), a store that sells firearms and ammunition. Cameron and Gornail spoke with the store manager. Gornail expressed an interest in purchasing an AK-47 assault rifle for herself. The store manager suspected that Gornail was actually purchasing the firearm for Cameron, and not for her own personal use, because Gornail did not know why she was buying the firearm, whereas Cameron was very knowledgeable about the firearm. After Cameron attempted to pay for the firearm, the store manager asked Cameron to fill out a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Form 4473 (“ATF form”), which has to be completed before an individual can buy a firearm. The ATF form requires a buyer of a firearm to provide his name and address and state whether the buyer is the “actual transferee/buyer” of the firearm. The ATF form also includes a warning, which provides that “[y]ou are not the actual buyer if you are acquiring the firearm(s) on behalf of another person. If you are not the actual buyer, the dealer cannot transfer the firearm(s) to you.” 2 Case: 13-10576 Date Filed: 12/11/2013 Page: 3 of 17 Question 11i of the ATF form asks whether the buyer, here Defendant Cameron, has a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The instructions for question 11i of the ATF form set forth the statutory definition of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.” 1 If a buyer represents on the ATF form that he has a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, the buyer is disqualified from buying a firearm. 2 In filling out the ATF form, Defendant Cameron represented that he, and not Gornail, was the actual transferee/buyer of the AK-47. Cameron also represented that he had never been convicted in a court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Finally, Cameron certified that his answers on the ATF form were true and correct and that he read and understood the notices, instructions, and definitions on the form. After Defendant Cameron completed the form, Shooters conducted a background check of Cameron through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (“FDLE”). The FDLE reported that Cameron was ineligible to buy 1 A “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” is statutorily defined, inter alia, as any offense under federal or state law that “has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force” and is committed by either (1) a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim, (2) by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, (3) by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian, or (4) by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim. 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A). 2 A person who has committed a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” is prohibited from possessing a firearm. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). 3 Case: 13-10576 Date Filed: 12/11/2013 Page: 4 of 17 the firearm. Thus, Shooters could not sell Cameron the firearm. Once Cameron and Gornail left Shooters, the store manager notified law enforcement about Cameron’s attempt to purchase the AK-47.