Can my ex take my gun

[nightmare]

Possession is nine tenths of something or other, especially when lovers or roommates part ways.

[C-dub]

And, if she were to hand it over to him, would that make it a straw purchase?

Not if it was a gift to him from her.

I don't know about that, since he never possessed it in the first place.

[n5wd]

Already tried for a protective order but because I cannot prove that he is going to hurt me or my kids they will do nothing!

At this point you need to be talking with an attorney and/or the women's shelter in Dallas. You can call 311 (NOT 9-1-1) to get a referral to the shelter. They, or the attorney, will let you know what you need to do/say in order to get a protective order. Also, the attorney can tell you what you have to do in order to secure your ownership of the gun in case he goes all legal on you, or gets some cop to take a stolen property report listing the gun as "stolen" (weirder things have happened in domestic disputes).

[Oldgringo]

There used to be at least two sides to every story. Just sayin'...

[jmra]

There used to be at least two sides to every story. Just sayin'...

Innocent until proven guilty. What an amazing concept.

[gigag04]

Curious what the cops said...I would've gone back in service "10-8, civil matter, no report"

[The Annoyed Man]

Hey there I am having an issue with my ex bf. He "bought" me a Smith & Wesson m&p 9mm for my birthday!

Good choice of gun.

We went together and bought it from Bass Pro Shop. The background check and the gun were registered in MY name. The only thing he did was swipe his credit card.

As others have pointed out, there is no "registration" in Texas. However, you are probably referring to the Form 4473 required by the BATF for any gun sold by a licensed gun dealer. On that form, you are certifying that you are eligible to buy/own the gun.

Well after we split up and he moved out he now says that the gun is his because he bought it. He says because he has "bank statements" saying he paid for it he can take it out of my name and put it into his name!

That doesn't matter..... 1) The purchase did not process his 4473, it processed yours, so you can tell him that if he really tries to pursue this, you'll report him to BATF for trying to pull off a straw purchase. (It may be an empty threat, but it sounds like he's dumb enough that it just might get him to stop and think about whether or not he wants to seriously pursue this.)

Please help! Can he seriously take my gun? He swears he looked it up online and says he can do it with "review in ownership" no idea what he is talking about. He says he talked to an officer and thats what they said, but when the cops came to my house when I called them yesterday they laughed and said no he can't take my gun from me because its not like a piece of jewelry it is a lisenced registered gift and he was stupid enough to put it in my name! HELP!

Possession is 9/10ths of the law. Like I said above, there is no registration, but it is your NICS background check that secured the purchase of the gun. Besides, his attitude is like saying that because he bought you a donut while you were together, now you have to give it back to him. That's ridiculous. Gifts do not come with strings. If you give something to someone, you release it to them, and it becomes theirs, to do whatever they want to with it. You surrender any current or future claim to the item. If this does not apply, then the item was not a gift, it was a loan.

He sounds like a first class creep. If he tries to come physically take the gun, you may end up having to use it on him to protect yourself. I hope for you that everything works out OK and that he just decides to cut his losses and quit bothering you.

[nyj]

Does he have other guns? Is he legally able to possess a gun?

This was my next question.

[srothstein]

Thanks, GigAg04. That was what I was about to post.

My experience is all from the police end of the law and not as a lawyer, so my advice is worth what you pay for it, but here it is anyway. My understanding of the law is that all property acquired while you are living together is community property. If you never lived together but simply dated, then all property is separately owned. When two people break up after acquiring community property, they have the choice of working out the settlement amongst themselves or taking it to court for a settlement (just as in a divorce). It appears that this is a civil matter of who owns the gun and if you two do not agree, he needs to go to court. The police have no say in the matter until someone is accused of committing a crime.

If he is repeatedly calling the police on you, about this or any other matter, he is attempting to control you. This is one of the stages in domestic abuse. I strongly recommend that you contact the women's shelter and the police to communicate your concerns. The shelter will have trained counselors who can help you learn more about this and how to protect yourself from it. They may be able to get you legal assistance in obtaining a restraining order to stop this behavior. They may be able to get the gentleman assistance to prevent this from happening to someone else or escalating with you. Unfortunately, if he is just calling the police, i am not sure if a crime is being committed. It does not appear to be stalking or harassment under the legal definitions, but may be false report to the police depending on what he says to them. If he is also still calling you, then it is very likely to meet the definition of harassment or stalking. Both the police and the shelter can help in either case.

[Oldgringo]

I still would like to hear what the herein much maligned distaff male actor has to say before passing judgment.

Y'all know what the Bard said, "...heck has no fury like that of a woman scorned..". That's not what he really said but that's as close as we can come to it here.

[ScooterSissy]

Hey there I am having an issue with my ex bf. He "bought" me a Smith & Wesson m&p 9mm for my birthday! We went together and bought it from Bass Pro Shop. The background check and the gun were registered in MY name. The only thing he did was swipe his credit card. Well after we split up and he moved out he now says that the gun is his because he bought it. He says because he has "bank statements" saying he paid for it he can take it out of my name and put it into his name! Please help! Can he seriously take my gun? He swears he looked it up online and says he can do it with "review in ownership" no idea what he is talking about. He says he talked to an officer and thats what they said, but when the cops came to my house when I called them yesterday they laughed and said no he can't take my gun from me because its not like a piece of jewelry it is a lisenced registered gift and he was stupid enough to put it in my name! HELP!

He read it on the internet, so it must be true.

Tell him your French model boyfriend says he's full s...tuff.

[ScooterSissy]

Thats what I kept saying but he keeps calling the cops on me etc this is so stupid. I had to bring the gun out yesterday to prove it was my gun because he kept telling the cops it was his

Every time the police come, ask them for a report, and let them know he's doing this to harrass you. Every time they come, show them the stack of reports. Eventually, they will take care of the problem.

[ScooterSissy]

personally... unless its some rare gun i would just let him have it back just to keep him from bothering me. Go out and buy yourself a gun and call it lesson learned.

though i dont agree with the police.

As I've read more of this, I disagree with this. This guy is starting to sound like one sick individual who knows she has a gun, and wants to make sure she doesn't have one anymore. I'd advise her not only to not0 give up the gun, but to try to get another one as a backup, and move to another location.

[gigag04]

Thats what I kept saying but he keeps calling the cops on me etc this is so stupid. I had to bring the gun out yesterday to prove it was my gun because he kept telling the cops it was his

Every time the police come, ask them for a report, and let them know he's doing this to harrass you. Every time they come, show them the stack of reports. Eventually, they will take care of the problem.

Doesn't meet the elements of the offense.

What he's doing is obnoxiously, but very thin criminally.

The only report you could get is an "incident" report. Which is basically a written record that cops went out there, discovered it was a civil matte, and went in service.

If he didn't call 9-1-1, there is little that can be done short of moving or getting a restraining order to bar that conduct. Neither of those is a police matter.