By David Codrea
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Lessons learned from one man’s struggle to challenge a gun purchase denial from the National Instant Check System give insights into how difficult it can be for a citizen to clear his name once the government has decided he’s a “prohibited person.” Fortunately, an Anchorage medical professional and “avid gun collector” [name withheld at his request] had the savvy, the wherewithal and the persistence to successfully fight a bureaucratic denial of his right to arms.
A former U.S. Army officer with a clean record that includes not so much as a speeding ticket in the past 10 years, albeit with one inadvertent self-reported fish and game violation in 2004, the doctor attempted to purchase a rifle at Cabela’s in Anchorage Alaska in early November. His first background check was delayed and then it was denied a few days later.
As an aside, the doctor says he has purchased many firearms over the last decade with no trouble. He immediately filed an appeal letter online and after multiple tries at trying to reach a live human, got a recording saying FBI was currently evaluating appeals from August 2015, putting them one year and three months behind even looking at his appeal.
“This was unreasonable,” he noted with extreme understatement, “so I created a plan to expedite my appeal. I immediately filled out my appeal online when I received the denial.
“I contacted my congressman, Don Young, and his office sent a congressional inquiry to the FBI NICS,” the doctor continued. “And I completed my concealed carry course and turned in all the needed information to the background evaluation officer at the Alaska State Troopers. This agent evaluates your finger prints and other data to determine if you are eligible for your CCW permit. This agent also communicates with the FBI NICS.
“I sent another copy of my finger prints to NICS for evaluation,” he concluded. The end result was that the denial was overturned. The process took about four weeks vs. a year-and-a-half, but it required significant effort on my part.”
And the reason for the initial denial, for withholding a fundamental right for an undetermined period and without due process, and for making a citizen go through extraordinary measures, including recruiting the assistance of a United States Congressman in order to not get hung out to dry by a bureaucratic snafu?
“The fingerprints you submitted are not identical with those in a record used in the evaluation of your attempt to possess or receive a firearm,” a weasel-worded Department of Justice attempt at excuse-making without admitting fault (or heaven forbid apologizing for rejecting the wrong guy) offered as justification. “Based on further review and investigation, we have been able to determine you are eligible to possess or receive a firearm. The FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division’s NICS Section Firearm Appeal Certificate is enclosed.
“If more than 30 days have elapsed since the initial background check, the FBI must recheck the NICS before allowing the firearm transfer,” the letter warned.
They had.
Reading about how bureaucratically rigid and wrong the government can be may make for forehead-slapping and head-shaking, but to a person trapped in their errors, it’s no laughing matter. As Martin Luther King Jr. observed, “A right delayed is a right denied,” and that’s not supposed to happen under our Constitution without due process.
Researcher John Lott has documented the preponderance of “false positives” in his warnings against Brady background checks. That’s also a real danger in the latest bit of “bipartisan” rights denial being pushed under the “No Fly/No Buy” slogan. And it shows yet another downside to the Bloomberg “background check” mandates designed to end all private sales plus establish identifying data needed for a registration system (“Effectiveness depends on the ability to reduce straw purchasing, requiring gun registration…” — National Institute of Justice).
As noted, had this doctor been a person of lesser drive, someone who did not know how to go about righting a wrong and staying with it to completion, he’d still be in limbo. And there’s no guarantee the bureaucrats would make things right when they finally got around to trying to undo the sloppy work that led to the denial in the first place.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.
In addition to being a field editor/columnist at GUNS Magazine and associate editor for Oath Keepers, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
Has anyone else had any luck with the appeals process? I was denied 4-16-2017 and quickly got on filing an appeal. At this point I’m 30 days out… Has it taken anyone else shorter than 1 yr plus? The sad part is that I’ve purchased firearms using NICS checks from all FFL’s over the past decade. Now the firearm that I was denied on sits in limbo because, I’ve already paid for it because it was a “special order.” Being that its a rather pricey firearm geared just for competition shooting, it’s not exactly something the FFL that has custody… Read more »
Thank you for writing this article. I was erroneously denied in WA state on Feb 23rd, 2017. I was trying to purchase a single action revolver (for protection in bear country) and a bolt action hunting rifle at the same time (same NTN). Interestingly, I paid for the guns and was given a delay at the FFL when they submitted my info. I didn’t think much of it (happens every time except once) but unfortunately I was busy and didn’t pick them up on my scheduled proceed day. I showed up two days late, just a few hours after the… Read more »
I’m still without my NICS 40 months after it was [illegally]revoked by Ontario County,New York State,the federal government,courtesy of my ex wife.No word from my lawyer in last 3 months either.
Judge Siragusa in [Rochester]federal court is sitting on his thumbs.
I’m not only denied being able to buy or trade for modern firearms,I’m also screwed out of employment locally and nationwide.I am desperately trying to exit New York State ASAP.
I’ll take help from anyone,to get this resolved.
Why are the feds even looking at his fingerprints? I have made a lot of firearm purchases over the years, and never had to submit fingerprints when filling out the form 4473 nonsense. I see he mentions ccw, but why was that turned into the atf? And I thought alaska was now constitutional carry? Does alaska allow conceal carry bg checks instead of the fed bg check process? If this isn’t an example supporting giiving the atf as little info as possible, then I don’t know what is. Good to see cases like this documented for when leftists ask what… Read more »
@minute-man – Re: the influence of TV. That character Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds has the ‘goods’ on everybody via a few keystrokes on her computer. She knows everything about everybody. She’s laying the foundation for what all the ‘statists’ would like the citizenry to accept as normal.
The US Government, in it’s actions for the last 50 or more years has changed me from being an eternal optimist, to the most cynical kind of pessimist you will likely ever encounter. ….And -THEY- DID IT. It is lie, after lie, after lie coming from Washington DC. 24/7/365 -all day, every day. All generated to MANIPULATE the ignorant SHEEP that are the majority population of this country. Except for the few of us who caught on to their deceit. As for me, I have not had TV feed into my house in over twenty years. See, I caught on… Read more »