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January 23, 2017, 01:17 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: January 23, 2017
Location: Central KY
Posts: 52
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NICS DENIAL Appealed, and APPROVED.. a story of hope for all.
Hello all,
I just wanted to share this story with you, as it’s been a rough couple of years in the world of getting a 4473 to go through… the end of that dilemma showed up in my mailbox in the form of a letter from the DOJ, and a NTN number. In 2007, I got hit with an assault charge. I won’t go into the details of that (as I’m still PO’d about it), but it was a Misdemeanor crime of Domestic Violence (4th degree assault). Bleh. Had I known at the time, the implications of a guilty plea just to get out of the court room and go home, I wouldn’t have plead guilty (because I wasn’t really.. defending myself). But I was broke, and couldn’t afford a lawyer. At no time whatsoever was it explained to me that I’d be losing my gun rights. Fast forward 7 years (2 year probation + 5 year waiting period); I filed for an expungement of the charge and it was granted. That expungement order was forwarded to locals, state, and federal agencies including the DOJ, FBI, and NICS division. That was in September of 2014. I knew gov’t was slow. So I sat on that. 1 year later, I ran a background check on myself, and sure enough, record GONE. This brought a smile to my face, as it was closure in a way. Time to test the waters… September, 2015… I went to the LGS and picked up a cute little .22 rifle that my boy will love shooting (someday, he’s still 2). 4473 filled out.. DENIED… to which I replied with a -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED- face. At this point, I walked out with a transaction number, and immediately when through the NICS appeals web page and filled out the appropriate info. I included a certified photocopy of the expungement order (as this technically, should be the only evidence that such a charge ever existed). A few weeks later, I got the DOJ’s letter that said “yea yea… you were denied because of this charge that shouldn’t be on your record but it is, we’ll look into it.” And then I never heard another thing. Test the waters.. round 2… September 2016… I used to have my CCDW; I let it expire years ago because I just never did carry. It occurred to me that perhaps, the state police performing a background check for CCDW renewal might be a little more thorough. Let’s try it! Photo, application, checks written, application mailed. 3 weeks later, letter in the mail.. DENIED. Seriously? Ok.. state police have an appeals process too. Again, go through those hoops, include another certified copy of the expungement order as a way of saying “hey look.. there IS no record. Please try again.” They replied 2 weeks later with a follow up denial which basically said “Your NICS background check confirmed that you have a 4th degree assault. Blah blah blah.. you’re breaking the law if you have any guns or ammo.” It became clear that the state police ran up against the same basic NICS background check as I did, and they weren’t reading what I was telling them and had no capacity to care or take action beyond the NICS check. Thanks for taking my money! (they still cashed my checks). So what’s a fella got to do to get past this? I read the stories too, that the FBI basically shut down the appeals department in the NICS division back in January of 2016. Even today, I don’t know if you can find a more recent story online that contests that, though the web site now states that they’re processing appeals filed in August of 2015. (last year, it said they were processing June 2015.. progress?!) Enter Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, Stage left… Write your Senators! We hear this often, and we often never do. But… I just happen to live in a state with two powerhouse senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. If you go to their web sites, they offer assistance with Federal Agencies. Ok.. I’ll bite. I wrote them both a letter on the 20th or so of December 2016. I info dumped on em’… included the appeal letters, the expungement order, privacy release forms.. and a thorough letter explaining all of the above, with a reminder that my 2nd and 5th amendment rights are basically being pooped on. On the 10th of January, I received a letter from Senator McConnell’s office: “…we have reached out to the FBI, and will follow up shortly with our findings.” YAYAYAYAAYA!!! That was fast! A ray of hope shone through the window. “I wonder how long this will take..” has been a continuing theme lately, and this helped me feel better. Friday, January 20th, 2016… I got a letter from the DOJ that in short says “We’ve discovered that you are eligible to possess a firearm. Here’s your NTN number certificate. If it’s been more than 30 days since your original application (lol.. you think? Try 470 days).. the LGS will need to run your NICS check again.” Saturday, January 21st, 2016… I receive a letter from Rand Paul’s office.. “we’re looking into it”. Now there’s a chance that this is just a coincidence of timing, and the NICS finally got around to doing their job without intervention. After all, the web site does say that they’re processing August 2015, and September is the next month after. But… I get a bigger smile on my face when I imagine that the office of the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called and poked around and someone in Clarksburg said “we should probably make this one go away.” I’ve not gotten any follow up correspondence from either office, but today, to celebrate, I walked out of the LGS with a brand new Kimber Ultra CDP II. BOOM. That almost 10-year-old weight is finally off of my shoulders. I’ll need to follow up with an application for CCDW.. again, and some serious thank you notes to Senators McConnell and Paul. I just wanted to share all of this as a message of hope for those that feel like they’re stuck in limbo. Be persistent. If you KNOW you’re right according to the letter of the law, don’t hesitate to ask for any help that your representatives are offering. Don’t just sit around and wait. It's FINALLY OVER. Last edited by MarkA; January 23, 2017 at 03:41 PM. |
January 23, 2017, 02:25 PM | #2 |
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Join Date: September 15, 2010
Posts: 1,850
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Congratulations on getting your record cleared. Your case clearly illustrates that our legal system does not favor those of us who don't have the means or knowledge to avoid the dangers therein. It is unfortunate that it took the involvement of your pro 2A Senators to get action taken. Not all Senators would do the same.
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"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Benjamin Franklin |
January 23, 2017, 06:32 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: September 25, 2008
Location: CONUS
Posts: 18,467
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Good for you for following through.
Your advice about bringing your congresscritters into the mix is generally valid. Toward the end of my tour of duty in sunny southeast Asia back in 1968, I was attached to 4th Infantry Division headquarters company. My hoochmates were the guys in the Division personnel office, and I learned that the one thing nobody wanted to happen -- EVER -- was for the command to receive a congressional inquiry regarding how the Army was not being nice to Johnny Jerkoff. Your assessment is pretty much spot-on -- when a "congressional" comes in, the name of the game is "make it go away - FAR away." |
January 23, 2017, 06:57 PM | #4 | |
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Location: US
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January 23, 2017, 07:01 PM | #5 |
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Join Date: March 11, 2005
Posts: 3,840
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Congrats! I'm glad your persistence paid off!
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The ATF should be a convenience store instead of a government agency! |
January 23, 2017, 07:51 PM | #6 |
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Join Date: January 23, 2017
Location: Central KY
Posts: 52
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Thanks y'all. I'm still reveling in it. It's some very welcome closure to a situation that I was starting to think I would be stuck with for forever. Black cloud.. and some other gloomy metaphors.
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January 23, 2017, 07:55 PM | #7 |
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Join Date: March 11, 2005
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Oh yeah, and Welcome to the forum!
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The ATF should be a convenience store instead of a government agency! |
January 24, 2017, 01:51 AM | #8 | |
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Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 28,833
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Quote:
The first, and most noticeable was that, for the first time in US history, a certain type of misdemeanor conviction resulted in a permanent, irrevocable denial of firearms rights. The other, seemingly smaller but also far reaching change is that under that law, it did not matter WHEN the conviction occurred, last week or 50 years ago. All the same under the law, and no matter what penalty was applied then, after passage of the law, the revocation of gun rights applied to ALL domestic violence convictions. The law also contained NO EXCEPTIONs for law enforcement or military personnel. It took, literally thousands of police "off the street" because they could no longer legally possess a gun, even on duty. I'm glad things finally worked out for you, enjoy your restored freedom, and welcome to TFL!!
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All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better. |
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January 24, 2017, 05:34 AM | #9 | |
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Join Date: September 6, 2012
Location: Lakewood, CO
Posts: 1,057
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Quote:
-------------- Congratulations to the OP, And I believe he is correct, I don't think most Jurisdictions explain the ramifications of such a misdemeanor conviction or even care. I'll give you an example; a family member was charged with such a misdemeanor, and when she explained the plea bargain I protested and explained that if she were convicted of this, she could likely no longer be able to purchase or own a firearm legally. After some strongly worded questioning directed at her attorney, they came up with a different plea strategy that worked out well. Even with an attorney the OP may not have been informed of the permanent penalty for such a conviction. I lay quite a bit of blame at the feet of this attorney my family member hired (who shall remain nameless), it came up that he in fact knew this about the penalty, but failed to disclose it, why exactly, we don't know.
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NRA Lifetime Member Since 1999 "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials." George Mason Last edited by iraiam; January 24, 2017 at 06:04 AM. |
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January 24, 2017, 12:09 PM | #10 | |
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Join Date: September 25, 2008
Location: CONUS
Posts: 18,467
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I like guns and I like shooting. At my age, I'm just not willing to risk it. I'd rather shoot than date. |
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January 27, 2017, 11:06 AM | #11 | |
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January 27, 2017, 11:43 PM | #12 |
Member
Join Date: January 23, 2017
Location: Central KY
Posts: 52
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I'd probably kick things off with a U-Haul van and a trip east; about 1,200 miles would do it.
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February 19, 2017, 09:34 AM | #13 |
Member
Join Date: January 23, 2017
Location: Central KY
Posts: 52
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Just a quick update
The state police have mailed my CCDW to the sheriff's office.
Happy boy!! |
Tags |
nics appeals , nics denied |
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