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.
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.
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