An Emerging Tactic In The Gun Control Battle: Taking Retailers To Court

The Walmart in Republic, Missouri, where white supremacist Frazier Glenn Cross Jr. and John Reidle purchased a shotgun used in an April 2014 shooting that left three people dead.

Andrew Cline / for KCUR

If you want to know how a felon buys a gun, think about how a teenager might buy alcohol.

First, find a willing friend or family member, or maybe even a stranger at a liquor store who wants to make a quick buck. Then give this person some cash, tell them your drink of choice, and wait.

If you’re careful, this transaction — called a “straw purchase” — is impossible to detect. Clerks don’t often hassle a person over 21 who walks alone into a liquor store.