Being delayed on a NICS check is bad enough. Being wrongly denied is a real gut-wrenching experience. I know this from experience, since I have been denied a firearm purchase 3 times in the last 15 years. Just this week though, I bought 2 guns perfectly legally. It’s possible to appeal a denial and win. There were times when I doubted I would ever get my rights back, but I was persistent and eventually I succeeded.
The first time was before NICS. The dealer would call the FBI and get “proceed, denied, or delayed” just like now. The delay could only be 5 days long; if there was no response by then, you got your gun. I was “delayed”. With no response, I picked my purchase up 5 days later. A week after that, I got a call from the ATF, telling me that I was illegally in possession of a firearm. Now, this part might be hard to believe by somebody who has read too many “jack-booted thugs” articles about the ATF, Ruby Ridge, and Waco; but it is my true experience. The agent asked me if there was anyone who I could give my guns to until the appeal went through. I asked if I could just give the keys to my gun locker to my wife, and he said that was OK. I had a gun at a pawn shop I wanted to pick up, but another background check was needed to get it. The agent volunteered to meet us at the pawn shop and he authorized the pawn broker to release the gun to my wife after her background check. The agent told me that the reason for the denial was a juvenile conviction that was supposed to be expunged but wasn’t. He treated us with courtesy and respect at all times. I filed my appeal and I eventually got a letter from the FBI that said I could pick up my gun.
A few years later, my liver began to fail. The symptoms of encephalopathy were misdiagnosed as mental illness; I was committed, and lost my firearms rights. When the doctors figured out what was really wrong with me, they fixed it. My doctor wrote a letter to the court, and with the help of the public defender who had represented me at the commitment hearing, I went to court and got my rights restored. The court order directed the clerk to notify the FBI and the state DHS/Mental Health departments. I got no letter this time, but by phone, NICS told me that a background check would go through if I wanted to buy a gun.
Things went fine for two years, when I was denied for the third time. In response to my appeal, the FBI said that they had changed their mind. Restoration of state firearm rights does not automatically restore federal rights. This time was more difficult, partly because the state DHS had no federal compliance officer at the time. When they got one, I reopened my appeal. Meanwhile, the 2007 NICS Improvement Act had been passed after the horrible school shooting at Virginia Tech. This act forced the states to report, and the federal government to accept, all changes in a persons firearms rights. This included making the feds acknowledge that my rights had been restored. I got another call from NICS, saying they were investigating my appeal, and needed releases for my medical records. I gave them a very narrow release.
I received a letter from NICS saying that my appeal had been granted, but I could not buy a gun. The records used by NICS can only be added to; nothing may be removed. The things that caused the denial will always be there. The only course open to me was to file an application for a Voluntary Appeal File. In order to “protect my rights” ( by this time it’s almost funny) the only way I can get NICS to keep the information on my granted appeal is if I voluntarily ask them to. I sent the application off, and I got the final letter.
The final letter gives me a Unique Personal Identifying Number (UPIN). When I fill out the 4473, there is a box to write my number in. I now have no problems exercising my firearms rights.
In concluding, I would say that the FBI, ATF, and NICS, were all polite, helpful, respectful, and incredibly bureaucratic and slow. They are also extremely strict and literal about what is legal and what isn’t. I wish it hadn’t all happened. I’m glad it’s over. Hunting, reloading, and shooting are my hobbies and my passions. The idea that these had been taken away from me wrongly was intolerable. I knew I was right, and I persisted until they passed a law that said so. If you have a similar experience, I hope my story gives you some hope that there is a way out of it. If it had to happen though, I’m glad it happened in America. In a way, it restored my faith in our system. It’s a terrible system, but it’s better than all the other ones !
