> Buckpassing by whom?
You.
> a culture that believes it is the inalienable right of any
> person to possess a fireman ...
Funny typo. But: I don't think your characterization jives with current law. In particular your use of "any" -- plenty of people are prohibited from possession of a firearm. Let's round off and call it "millions" ... Notable in the group is "convicted violent felon" -- of which there are millions in the US. Of course that law doesn't stop the vast majority of gun crime from being commited (see DOJ stats on who commits gun crime in the US; I'll save you the lookup: mostly it's violent felons). Also notable in the group of "prohibited persons" is anyone who gets a court order related to being a danger to themselves or others.
About the only thing you can say about this guy is there was no reason for him to bother trying to get a firearm in other-than-legal ways. If you wanted the clerk to stop him, you should find a way through your fantasy narrative to get him either convicted of a felony or have a court decide that he was a danger to himself or others.
Thus: buck-passing.
/jordan