NICS Denial - My story.

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NMCCWGUY

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Hello Everyone! I am new here and wanted to share my own personal dealings with the NICS denial process.

First off, I have have been a long time CCW holder in Arizona and now New Mexico. I DO have a criminal record from way back in 1993 (High Court Misdemeanor) and am very familiar with the maximum sentence for this conviction.

I see a lot of posts with people who are "lucky" and never get a delay or denial, but I also see posts where folks have been totally blindsided by a denial as well. With this in mind I just wanted to add my two cents and hopefully this could help some of those unlucky people.

I never had a problem in AZ when purchasing a gun because I just showed my CCW and I was out the door. When I moved to NM I also didn't have a problem when purchasing a firearm in 2005 and then again in 2007. New Mexico doesn't use the CCW as a work around for a purchase.

Now the fun part. In 2010 I was delayed for a shotgun, but it timed out. Then on March 30th of 2011 I went to a dealer to purchase another rifle and once again delayed. Then 2 days later here comes the dreaded DENIAL! So, I get the call from the owner of the GS and he says in a kind of apathetic way to come get my money back and that he couldn't sell it to me. I kind of laughed at that and told him that it was odd that I would be given a CCW but not pass the background check. This changed his tune and he said he would hold the rifle for me. So, Fingerprints have been sent with my appeal form on March 5th or so. I get a response from the FBI stating that the NICS is a descriptive service and I matched some info that looked like I was a prohibited person. So, given that I do have a record I'm thinking maybe that's the problem, or my name matches a "prohibited" person. Any way the letter states 142 days average processing time, and I am patient.

I will keep everybody apprised as to the outcome and time line if anyone would find this beneficial.
 
So you can get a CCW with a misdemeanor?
Phew, I was worried that my big screw up in college was going to cost me that.

I'm still working it off, any my grandpa still has possession of all my firearms, but come 9mo's time (maybe sooner :) ) I get them back.
 
@ tyeo098 - It all depends on the state and the sentencing laws of the state you were convicted in. New Mexico is not so bad on the the sentencing part. The maximum you can be sentenced for a misdemeaner here is up to 1 year. As far as the NM CCW goes they have a really screwy law stating that you cannot have been convicted of any crime involving assault, battery etc. I do stress the involving part. They can be pretty picky.
 
You don't get too many whacks at the Pinata on a denial.

If you submit prints and the reason they denied you is upheld by the prints, it's game over. For that specific denial.

Welcome to the bonus round.

This is just my opinion; once you are advised that you were denied because they discovered information suggesting you are prohibited, you need to request your FBI rapsheet, assuming one exists. It is quite inexpensive to obtain, nothing more really than the cost of fingerprints and a small administrative fee.

Once armed with this knowledge, a course may be plotted to minimize time and cost. Without the report, well, there's always the Pinata :uhoh:
 
I completely agree. However, I have had numerous FBI background checks performed on me every time I applied for/renewed my CCW. If I was a prohibited person there is no way the states would even have bothered with me.
 
My FFL told me just today he had a long time customer get denied last week and was told to expect 160+ days for the appeal. Frustrating.
 
According to the actual stats kept by the NICS section http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/nics the number of denials is actually decreasing. Not increasing.



Interesting fact: About half the NICS background checks are done by the FBI, and about half the background checks are done by state or local law enforcement.
 
My bet is you'll have to show them that your conviction was under a statute that had a max sentence of under a year, as most misdemeanors do. You should get a certified copy of your own court file and know the procedures for sending the feds a sealed, certified copy directly. Also it's not a bad idea to get a historical copy of the statute in question from the time of the conviction.

None of this is rocket science, but it can confuse lay people. All in all, it's worth getting a lawyer when/if they come back and give you the specific grounds for denial.
 
Thanks Cosmoline,

I did send them copies of my court paperwork, but nothing official. In New Mexico it doesn't matter what the conviction was if it was a misdemeanor it is a sentence of no more than 1 year and it was not a DV. I do plan to fight this if they reject my appeal.
 
"...way back in 1993..."

I don't know if that kind of misdemeanor would be prohibitive or not, but there is no time limit on a criminal record for the NICS check. True, 1993 doesn't seem to me all that long ago, but that is irrelevant. It is on the record and the law is that if you have a record that would prevent a sale, you can't buy a gun.

That is why we have to be extra careful. The average street punk doesn't care how many convictions he has; in fact they are braggihg points with his "buds". But to most of us, "no more guns" would be a tragedy. Some time back, a poster blamed the FBI and BATFE for his failure of the NICS check, ranting that he had never been convicted, but he had pled guilty to an armed robbery charge ten years ago. No one could convince him that his guilty plea was a conviction and that how long ago didn't matter. I guess he is still ranting and raving about his non-existent Second Amendment rights.

Jim
 
If you've already reached the stage of knowing what the reason for denial was and appealing it, then I believe you need to be sending them a certified copy or rather the court needs to send them that information. Or did you just preemptively send them that material before they told you the reason for denial? Also you'll need to be prepared not just to cite the code you were convicted of violating but the code provision where the maximum sentence is listed. Those are often in two different places. And it needs to be the code at is was when the conviction took place. There's also a way of getting in contact via email with the person in charge of the appeal file.

All in all, worth getting a lawyer.
 
That is why we have to be extra careful. The average street punk doesn't care how many convictions he has; in fact they are braggihg points with his "buds". But to most of us, "no more guns" would be a tragedy. Some time back, a poster blamed the FBI and BATFE for his failure of the NICS check, ranting that he had never been convicted, but he had pled guilty to an armed robbery charge ten years ago. No one could convince him that his guilty plea was a conviction and that how long ago didn't matter. I guess he is still ranting and raving about his non-existent Second Amendment rights.

Jim
Click to expand...

Believe me when I say that I am not proud of my past. Unfortunately I've done dumb things in my past and happened to get caught. I am so grateful that my parents were the kind that actually cared about me and my future. If it wasn't for them hiring a good lawyer my conviction would not have been a misdemeanor!:eek:
 
I am so grateful that my parents were the kind that actually cared about me and my future.
Click to expand...
'Amen' for good parents.
Keep us updated.
I'm certain this will turn out happy.
 
Or did you just preemptively send them that material before they told you the reason for denial?
Click to expand...

I just preemptively sent what information I had in order to try to expedite the process. I hadn't been in any trouble sine 1993 so I figured this has raised it's ugly head again. However, I'm sure that didn't help at all.
 
A lot of people don't like to do it, but if you put your Social Security Number on the form there's no way they can confuse you with another like-name person.

Also if you read the definitions section of Form 4473, read:

6. The transferee of a firearm should be familiar with 18 U.S.C. § 922. Generally, § 922
prohibits the shipment, transportation, receipt, or possession in or affecting interstate
commerce of a firearm by one who: has been convicted of a misdemeanor
crime of domestic violence; has been convicted of a felony, or any other crime,
punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year (this does not include
State misdemeanors punishable by imprisonment of two years or less);
 
A lot of people don't like to do it, but if you put your Social Security Number on the form there's no way they can confuse you with another like-name person.
Click to expand...

I do and have added my social many times successfully. Just not this last time.

Also if you read the definitions section of Form 4473, read:

6. The transferee of a firearm should be familiar with 18 U.S.C. § 922. Generally, § 922
prohibits the shipment, transportation, receipt, or possession in or affecting interstate
commerce of a firearm by one who: has been convicted of a misdemeanor
crime of domestic violence; has been convicted of a felony, or any other crime,
punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year (this does not include
State misdemeanors punishable by imprisonment of two years or less);
Click to expand...

Also, for the record here is New Mexico's sentencing law (where I was convicted)

2009 New Mexico Code
Chapter 31 - Criminal Procedure.
Article 19 - Sentencing Authority for Misdemeanors, 31-19-1.
Section 31-19-1 - Sentencing authority[;] misdemeanors; imprisonment and fines; probation.

31-19-1. Sentencing authority[;] misdemeanors; imprisonment and fines; probation.

A. Where the defendant has been convicted of a crime constituting a misdemeanor, the judge shall sentence the person to be imprisoned in the county jail for a definite term less than one year or to the payment of a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or to both such imprisonment and fine in the discretion of the judge.


Yes I am very familiar with that law. As I have said I have had CCW's in two states and they all follow federal law as well. I wouldn't have even had a CCW if I couldn't even be in posession of a gun. I do not have a Domestic Violence conviction and the maximum sentence New Mexico can impose is one year for a misdemeaner.
 
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NMCCWGUY-

Not sure if this is relevant to the time you're waiting, but "court paperwork" covers a lot of different sheets of paper that may include clerk of court face sheets, arrest reports, court case time-line activities, and lots of interesting copies of every strip of paper ever generated on you. In my experience however, when reviewing criminal histories in my program area, I could get a boat load of semi-meaning less court documents on each arrest that pops on NCIC, but if I don't have anything with a judge's signature showing disposition, or a signature from a state attorney that nolle prossed/dropped your case, no decision on my end will get made until I have those things for review.

Again, not sure if that is relevant or helpful to your particular case and hopefully they got all the needed for a successful review...good luck!
 
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