Federal Government Took all his Guns!!!

[Blain]

Check a frightening increasingly common occurrence.

http://www.battlerifles.com/viewtopic.php?t=27258

I am a regular poster on this board and have posted under a new name for anonymity. Scott and the admins, please do not delete this post as I am posting it here so others can learn from my experience.

My girlfriend and I have been together for 7 years. A few nights ago my girlfriend and I got into a verbal fight. She grabbed onto my shirt and kicked me so I reached down and grabbed her hand and squeezed. That is the full extent of what happened. The neighbors heard us yelling at each other and called the police. The police show up and take us seperate ways. I did not want her to get in trouble so I did not mention that she kicked me and hit me. When they asked her what happened she said nothing. He then asked if I touched her and she said no. Then he said that if she did not tell him the whole story she could get in trouble. She then said that I had grabbed her hand and squeezed. He then came back to me and asked if I squeezed her hand and I said I had squeezed her hand to make her let go of me and he arrested me on misdemeanor domestic violence. Confused, my girlfriend asked what they were doing and told them she did not want to press charges and he said she had no choice, the state is pressing charges and she would have to testify against me.

Then without a warrant or consent they went in my house and confiscated all of my guns and turned them over to the federal government. In 1996 a federal law was passed banning gun ownership from anyone CONVICTED of Domestic Violence. I have not yet been convicted, I don't quite understand that.

I spent the night in jail and posted bond. The government now has $3000 worth of guns and I cannot own any. If I am found guilty and lose the right to guns it will be a death sentance. I cannot deal with going through life defenceless....

 

[J Jones]

Then without a warrant or consent they went in my house and confiscated all of my guns and turned them over to the federal government.

This sounds fishy. Why do the feds need to get the guns, as no federal law was broken and this is a matter for the state until after this guy gets convicted, if at all.

 

[Jeff White]

We don't have enough information to tell what really happened. He doesn't mention if an Order of Protection was issued against him. They are routinely done in domestic violence cases in some jurisdictions. If he is subject to an OOP, he cannot possess firearms while he's subject to it. The OOP may have a requirement for him to turn in his firearms to the court that issued them. I have my doubts that the feds have them.

I would recommend he hire the best attorney he can afford and maybe offer to plead to misdemeanor battery. No RKBA loss with that charge, at least on the federal side. He might have the attorney check the records in the court it will be heard in. People would be surprised how many domestic battery charges are changed to simple battery. In some jurisdictions this happens only for special people. If that's going on, it might be something the states attorney doesn't want to get out.

Jeff

 

[atek3]

WHOA, that really sucks.

atek3

 

[cracked butt]

The worst part is that it sounded like he was trying to defend himself while stopping the physical fighting. A woman almost always gets a free pass in a situation where she starts flailing her fists and feet and the man will be branded a "woman beater" for the act of grabbing her wrists to stop a violent confrontation.

And yes, I've been in that situation before, though it never involved the police. A girlfriend of mine and I were having a verbal argument until the point where she lost it and started kicking me, aiming for the groin. I blocked a kick by raising my leg which resulted in her shin striking mine, leaving a small bruise on hers. She threatened to call the police for battery.
The relationship ended almost immediately, she was not worth the risk to me besides being a psycho.

Yes, battery to men happens all of the time, its rarely perceived that way or for that matter believed by authorities.

 

[HBK]

I feel for the guy. I've had some experience with the same situation, only worse, but at the time I owned no guns. It was a long time ago. It looks like it's getting to the point that the government can do whatever it wants.

 

[c_yeager]

It's going to be REAL hard for him to get convicted without his girlfriend cooperating with the state. If the neighbors heard the fighting they had to have been pretty dang loud about it as well.

Assuming the story is true it will probably work itself out in a little while without repercussion.

 

[joab]

I have had some experience in this matter.
Many years ago I got into an argument with a GF. It started with "my father said that you're blah blah blah" And escalated to me saying "youi're father's an Alpha Hotel"
Which for some reason sent her over the edge.
She grabbed me and I pushed her back ( actually adrenaline must have been pumping cause I kinda threw her back 5ft or so). She went down the street and called the cops.
When the officer arrived this woman ,that I thought was born without tear ducts, turns on the waterworks. He asks her if she wants to press charges. "No, boo hoo hoo, I just want you to help me get my stuff and go" (I think she had a hair brushthere),
Cop starts to question me and all of a sudden he says " Whoa, Sir",(Up until that point I was mister shut up and sit down if you know whats good for you) "Do YOU want to press charges and do you need medical treatment" Then he pointed out three 14kt gold finger nails (this was the '80s) imbedded in my upper arm and a steady flow of blood dripping off my finger tips. Even though I did not want to press charges (too embarrassing) she was placed under arrest.

Ubder Fla state law if there is evidence of abuse there must be an arrest. In my case there was physical evidence. In your case there was her accusation and you're admission.
If you learned nothing else learn this SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN. Your admission got you arrested and since this was now a crime scene they did not need consent or warrant to search your house. The police are not there to figure out how to solve the problem they are there to figure out who to arrest and the man will almost always be the prime target

Fast forward 10 years:
I was going through a fairly rough divorce (Does anyone else sing that stupid song when they try to spell divorce) I drop my son off from visitation and nobody is there so I call her BFs house and politely suggest that she put some clothes on , pick up her twenty from the dresser, and come take delivery of the kid. Since she's at the beach she sends her brother over instead. As I'm going home my POS car breaks down around the corner from her house. BIL rides by and offers to help I think he was making a rude remark so I politely suggest that he leave. This irritates BIL so he calls the cops and tells them I'm spying on the house from a secluded location and that I am known to carry a gun. This time 5 cops show up. As they're doing-good cop/ bad-cop I politely suggest that bad-cop shut up because I can only talk to one idiot at a time.
They tell me that they can arrest me for domestic violence I ask them " "Don't I get to slap the b---h" at least once first. Guess what in Fla name calling is DV now so down I go.
In the next 2 weeks ( you get 20 days in O-Town for telling a cop to shut up, if you do it right) the state badgers my ex to press charges she wont because she was 50 miles away at the time of the incident. So they finally drop it.
If my ex had been vindictive or not known her rights and just SAT DOWN AND SHUT UP I would have been in trouble. If I had just SAT DOWN AND SHUT UP I would not have been arrested in the first place. My problems started when I tried to explain my broken down car to a uncaring audience.

So what have we learned? When LEO is talking to you in response to something you have done or that he thinks you have done. He is not your friend he is your potential jailer
SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP IF YOU KNOW WHATS GOOD FOR YOU

 

[TimRB]

"If you learned nothing else learn this SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN."

There it is. If you're arrested, never, ever say anything to the police other than to tell them you want your attorney. They are trying to build a case against you. If they are asking you questions, it's because they think you can (and will) help them.

Tim

 

[ksnecktieman]

Lawyer time. Do NOT speak to the police. Do not plead to anything unless the gf will testify against you. Make sure your lawyer understands if the gf is still on your side.

Good Luck

 

[FPrice]

"I did not want her to get in trouble so I did not mention that she kicked me and hit me."

Bingo. Failure to let the police know the actions of the other party kinda puts all of it on YOU!.

 

[ojibweindian]

Nerver, ever say anything to the police if they are conducting an investigation into something and you're, in any way, even remotely involved.

 

[corncob]

This is a REAL federal law. I recently attended a (state) house judiciary subcommitee meeting here in SC where a limousine liberal-type rep. was trying to introduce a state law mirroring the federal one. Apparently there is some confusion over what state or local agency can enforce the law here in SC, so it isn't eforced at all. This guy was a real tool and the rest of the critters were buying the crap he was spreading around--even after a representative from the sherriff's association or something basically told them the law would be impossible to enforce and do almost no good.

This is no joke. It is supposed to die in the senate, but I can't believe how bad things have gotten when something as ridiculous as this is even CONSIDERED by the lawmakers.

This particular bill takes your right to own guns away for life if you are charged with misdemeanor DV or if someone gets a restraining order against you.

Just thinking about it makes me too angry to type.

 

[kbr80]

The domestic violence law does more harm in some cases than it does right. It needs a enema. What ever happened to the numerous Dallas PD officers that have misdemeanor convictions under this law, but yet, still got to own and carry a firearm. You and could not, but the po po could.

 

[Eskimo Jim]

What happened is terrible.

Call a lawyer. 'nuff said

-Jim

 

[Standing Wolf]

I've had to listen to some seriously loud domestic arguments over the years. I loathe, detest, and despise people who insist upon inflicting their differences of opinion on the entire neighborhood.

That saidâ„¢, disarming people for misdemeanors is a gross, wanton violation of American justice.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

As with so many of these, "Oh, I have been victimized by the system and I am not guilty of anything!" stories, as noted above, this is really fishy. If the local cops confiscated this guy's guns, they would not turn them over to the feds without some federal law broken, such as some form of weapons violation.

In abuse stories, charged parties involved almost always down play their role in events, true or not.

I would not be hard pressed to believe that this guy has left out a lot of relevant information about the situation of the cops being called and the confiscation of the guns.

While federal law may allow confiscation of weapons, or rather disallow ownership, by convicted abusers, state law may allow for confiscation, I don't know.

Blain, I have NO idea why you felt it necessary to copy an anonymously posted supposed complaint about some supposed crime, but if you are going to do so, then don't exagerate the facts to sensationalize the story. The federal government DID NOT confiscate this guy's guns. The thread title you posted said they did. Look closely. He claims they were taken by the local cops and the cops turned them over to the feds. Those are two very different courses of action. Your thread title suggests the feds came in and did this guy wrong. The feds were never present in his home and the feds did not wrong him. If he was wronged, it was by the locals. Given the weirdness of the story, I doubt he was as wronged as claimed.

 

[Jonesy9]

local podunk coppers are not the federal governement, too bad he didn't tell the truth when he had the chance. domestic violence is taken seriously these days.

 

[joab]

I read through all 8 pages of responses to this on the other forum.
The reason he said that the Feds took his guns is because the cop that took them told him that he would have to fight the Federal Gov't to get them back. Possibly alluding to the Fed level law that DVs can't own or be in possession of firearms or possibly just showing his ignorance or possibly just trying to get away from an irrate citizen who just lost his guns.
Knowledgeable posters informed him that this was not the case and that he could get his guns back in 2 to 5 days.
This is obviously a kid, probably of some privilage, playing the poor pitiful me routine. Nothing seems to be his fault. He can't afford a lawyer because he has to pay $1500 to get his license back , which has been suspended for failure to appear on several traffic tickets, yet he still continues to drive a car with an illegally loud exhaust system.
The fight was not his fault and the arrest was not his fault because the officer's report says that he could see no injury forget the fact that he's a cop not a doc and that the kid admitted to hurting the girl.
If one of the posters critisized his action he blows up in their face and again explains how nothing is his fault. He has alot of growing up to do and gets no sympathy from me.
I don't think that it is a horrible act to TEMPORARILY remove firearms from a house where a violent act has occured, when the victim has to remain in the house I think most of us would do the same thing for a family member or friend. Hell I have done it for family members and friends

 

[JohnBT]

"Federal Government Took all his Guns!!!"

Do you even read the stuff you post? The FEDS were called in on a domestic dispute? Get real.

John

 

[Blue Line]

also you have to be convicted under the law in order to have the right denied. You may be found innocent and then keep the guns. This story defintely is fishy. ATF or whatever Fed. Agency would not take the guns from the Police just because of custodial reasons much less legality reasons. The guns may have been temorarly removed by some sort of domestic violence/restraining order but not the way this story tells the tale. I think this story started out with once upon a time.
Ya cant be denied just cause your charged - convictions only- count.

 

[Blain]

Relax, fools. I'm simply using the title he himself used on his original thread.


And you can rest assured, if our federal government wasn't so corrupted and all encompassing, none of this would have been going on. So even though they are not directly at fault, it is indirectly a result of their chipping away at the constitution and bill of rights.

 

[Don Gwinn]

OK, that's about enough of this.

Boom, boom, OUT GO THE LIGHTS!