QuestionIs there a way to find out the case number/date/alleged offense/actual basis for being labeled a "prohibited possessor" of firearms in Arizona? An application was denied, but the purchaser does not know why....
AnswerAmy,
I am presuming that you are talking about the person being 'denied' on a firearms purchase transaction when the 'instant background check' was done with NICS.
In general, the reasons that someone might be denied include:
-A person who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year or any state offense classified by the state as a misdemeanor and is punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than two years.
-Persons who are fugitives of justice梖or example, the subject of an active felony or misdemeanor warrant.
-An unlawful user and/or an addict of any controlled substance; for example, a person convicted for the use or possession of a controlled substance within the past year; or a person with multiple arrests for the use or possession of a controlled substance within the past five years with the most recent arrest occurring within the past year; or a person found through a drug test to use a controlled substance unlawfully, provided the test was administered within the past year.
-A person adjudicated mental defective or involuntarily committed to a mental institution or incompetent to handle own affairs, including dispositions to criminal charges of found not guilty by reason of insanity or found incompetent to stand trial.
-A person who, being an alien, is illegally or unlawfully in the United States.
-A person who, being an alien except as provided in subsection (y) (2), has been admitted to the United States under a non-immigrant visa.
-A person dishonorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces.
-A person who has renounced his/her United States citizenship.
-The subject of a protective order issued after a hearing in which the respondent had notice that restrains them from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such partner. This does not include ex parte orders.
-A person convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime which includes the use or attempted use of physical force or threatened use of a deadly weapon and the defendant was the spouse, former spouse, parent, guardian of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited in the past with the victim as a spouse, parent, guardian or similar situation to a spouse, parent or guardian of the victim.
-A person who is under indictment or information for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year
If none of the above restrictions apply to the person who attempted to purchase a firearm, there may be a situation where the background check indicates that either the person applying or another individual with a similar name and/or similar descriptive features (name, sex, race, date of birth, state of residence, social security number, height, weight, or place of birth) has been matched with either state prohibitive criteria or one or more of the above listed federally prohibitive criteria.
Individuals who are denied the purchase of a firearm may request that the NICS or the state which processed their transaction provide the reasons for the denial.
Appeals can be made in writing or via email and must include the name and address of the person making the appeal. The request must also include the NICS Transaction Number (NTN) assigned to their transaction. Appeals may be submitted via facsimile at 1-888-550-6427; by e-mail at
[email protected]; or by mail to the FBI, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, NICS Section, Appeal Services Team, Post Office Box 4278, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26302-9922.
This is not an especially quick process, so please don't expect overnight turnaround.
Approximately 27% of appeals filed have a positive result, so it is definitely worth doing.
Hope this helps you out...
Regards,
Doug Little
