TexasCHLforum.com

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!

It was a gift. Tell him no, end of discussion and refuse to talk about it any further.

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

Where are you located? In Texas firearms are not licensed or registered. The paperwork at the dealer says that you purchased a firearm on a specific day, and the NICS check performed indicated that you are not prohibited from owning a firearm. I don't think either of these has a bearing on true ownership of the firearm after the point that it was purchased from the dealer. While your ex may be able to provide evidence that he paid for the gun, that alone does not mean that he owns it.

Im in dallas! I am only quoting what the officers told me

so then I guess my question then would be how do I prove I "own" the gun. He doesnt have the serial number of the gun nothing. He doesnt even know how to shoot a gun this is all out of spite

Next question, Do you fear for your safety? If so then http://www.courts.state.tx.us/oca/pdf/P ... nglish.pdf

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!

I guess the real question would be is it all worth it? If you are not in danger would giving it back to him make him go away? To me it appears as nothing more than something to drag out the drama of the breakup.

9mmmamma wrote: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!

What about harassment? If he's repeatedly calling the police on you for a crime you didn't commit, he's harassing you and wasting their time (would it count as filing a false police report?).

Would giving it back or paying him the cost of it make him knock it off, or would he just choose something else to make an issue out of?

The gun is my only protection I am a single mother with 2 small children and well we dont live on the most wonderful side of town we have had break ins in the past hence why the gun was originally bought.

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

Depends on how bad he wants it. Look he already has it so yes he can take it, he did already right? The fact that it is a gun makes no real difference to the law. It could be a tv or furniture, in this case it just happens to be a gun. Now here is the thing tho, and I'm not a lawyer so take it for what it's worth, it would be a little hard for him to pretend he didn't make a gift of the gun to you since you were the one to do the paperwork. In my opinion it is a civil matter but if you file a small claims court case on him I don't see any way he could win. He was either giving you the gun or committing federal firearms violations, either way he would lose the case and be required to give you the gun or cash value.

9mmmamma wrote: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

It might of been helpful if you mentioned that you still possessed the gun. Look either it was a gift of he committed a federal crime by having you fill out the paperwork. That he changed his mind later means nothing. You don't get to "take back" gifts except in very particular circumstances and this isn't one. If he wants the gun tell him to sue you and that you are willing to let the courts decide. He won't bother or he'll lose either way refuse to deal with him and if he calls the cops out again start looking int an R.O. against him. Lets face it there is only about a 2% chance that this drama is about a gun anyway. This isn't some family heirloom or something.

If I understand the story correctly...

1) YOU still have possession of the gun
2) HE has called the cops to try and trick them into getting possession of the gun for him
3) YOU called the cops about the harassment and they laughed at HIS ridiculous claim

Is that about it?

Keep the gun loaded and safe from the kiddos and tell him to call Judge Judy if it means that much to him. This is a civil small claims issue, if he chooses to make it one, and he will have to sue if he wants it back. It's an obvious gift. Refrain from telling him to "come and get it" as much as I would love to advocate that...

The cops will most likely tell him to stop calling them and take it to the judge if its that big a deal.