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Failed Background Check

vinniedelpino

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Minuteman
  • Sep 27, 2020
    2,400
    4,726
    Charlotte NC
    So my buddy ordered a couple of firearms from Atlantic Firearms. He's retired military and bought and passed another background check last month without issues. He went to pick up his goodies this time and failed the background check. He took about a $600 hit in return shipping and restocking fees.

    He had a DUI about a decade ago, but he's passed quite a few background checks since then. He hasn't been arrested, he's a single guy so no crazy exes we're aware of. Definitely nothing recent. No antidepressants or anything either. Could it have something to do with being prescribed pain meds for a shoulder and wrist surgery through the VA? That's the only recent change I know of.

    I'm stumped. Any ideas? He lives in the middle of nowhere up in Maine. His LGS is about an hour away and prices are way high and he definitely doesn't want to go through this again.

    Thanks in advance for any insight.
     
    Pretty sure he needs to contact the State Police to ask those questions. Not to mention they should be required to provide IF he's able to clear it up.

    Not sure why anyone would allow the items to be returned without knowing he's not 100% ever going to get them.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Maggot
    if the prescriptions are legit, they should not lead to him being denied......and how would anyone even know?

    DUI.....assuming everything was properly handled, i also dont believe should lead to being denied, state charges may vary, but if he was found guilty, and the state permits imprisonment for over 1 yr (even if he didnt receive that time).....that could be grounds for denial

    criminal records are slow to update, so it very well could be related to the DUI, and he could have been approved until the records updated.


    if he has a common name, they very well could have gotten him mistaken......my name is pretty common so i always use my SSN on 4473s......


    at any rate, its worth your buddy contacting a lawyer, and have the lawyer contact the state to get it cleared up.

    regarding the shipping back, technically he still owns the firearms, and there is nothing preventing the dealer from holding the firearms until he got it sorted out....unless the dealer didnt want to hold them, there was no reason to necessarily return them.
     
    regarding the shipping back, technically he still owns the firearms, and there is nothing preventing the dealer from holding the firearms until he got it sorted out....unless the dealer didnt want to hold them, there was no reason to necessarily return them.
    This…

    Exactly this

    I am kinda curious as to why the dealer would not hold them if they were 100% paid for.
     
    I had this happen to me...of course it was erroneous. Forget about lawyers, they are no help. Contact all your Congressmen, explain your situation, and that you are completely eligible to purchase said firearms and want your 2nd amendment rights restored. For those of you who have never went through this, when you get denied the ATF sends you a letter, required by law, explaining why you were denied. What you get is a form letter stating that you were denied for one of the following reasons...you are a convicted felon, you were adjudicated mentally ill, you were dishonorably discharged, etc. It is the Form 4473 regurgitated stating that you are guilty of one of these disqualifying acts. They don't bother to state which. The new 4473 makes makes marijuana use a disqualifying factor and you could be denied if it shows up in the background check.
    The only reason to be denied on a background check is failing to meet the requirements on the 4473. When I was denied, I immediately contacted my Congressmen and explained that there was no reason for my 2nd amendment rights to be suspended. It took two months to get this corrected. In the end, all that happened, is I got a letter from the ATF saying I could complete the purchase. No additional explanation was ever given. My solution was to move to a state where your concealed carry permit serves as the background check. Left Colorado, sold all my properties for 3 times what I paid for them, and moved to Texas.
    Rich Texan GIF - Richtexan Cowboy Thesimpsons GIFs
     
    Could just be someone else with the same name that caused him the problem. But i dont understand why he would ship everything back before trying to get everything sorted out.
     
    I have had old traffic tickets i didnt know about turn to warrants and cause this before. Best thing to do is call the state police and check on his status. Its the quickest way to clear up outstanding warrants which is usually the cause of a sudden no go.
     
    Have a buddy who was always having trouble with being delayed on the background check. His name was similar to a felon's. Funny thing was he worked for the same agency doing the background check, and that agency had no problem issuing him guns. Government at it's finest.
     
    I think he got jammed up and panicked. I heard about it a couple days later after he already sent them back. It's a very small gun shop on an island off of Maine, so I'm speculating the shop didn't have much room in the safe given the panic buying going on and probably told him he had to return to seller. Just speculating.

    What a shit show though... he was honorably discharged as an E9 in army recon and aside from the DUI has no criminal record. He was sleeping overnight in a box truck and had the engine on to warm up the vehicle with an empty six pack on the passenger seat. It gets cold up there. That was at least 10 years ago, so that would be a hell of a turnaround time to update records. He lost his commercial drivers license, but I think that's about it.

    I appreciate the info though! Just sent him a link to this thread. I'll let him sort it out on his end.

    Thanks!
     
    I have an ABWIK reduced to A charge on my record from 29 years ago and while it causes a delay 99% of the time it's never even once caused me to be denied. It does, however, prevent me from holding a CWP in S.C.
     
    The gunshop should've explained his option after the failed check. He can easily appeal the decision. One of the best things you can do to help isolate you from someone with the same name and criminal history is provide your ssn. I find I rarely get a delay or denial when running a check if I use a ssn.
     
    Coloradan here. Happened to me about 20 (post 9/11...i.e. "patriot act")years ago. I called the CBI and hounded some zealous douche bag. They had access to an "expunged" misdemeanor conviction. I politely explained even though you have access to a record you shouldn't, it still does not preclude me from the 2A. Heated back and forth and within an hour approved. Times have changed, and do not know why I was able to handle it myself....bought many guns since then, Benelli just last week. Good luck!
     
    Last edited:
    As many have already stated; no reason to send the guns back, but I understand that it is a done deal already.

    Not sure why one wouldn't use their SSN on the 4473, but I respect your privacy. It certainly will help with the majority of confusion if you have a common name. I figure that the government has everything short of a butthole print on me, so I'm not going to sweat putting my SSN down once again for them. Again, this may not be the reason behind what's going on, but it can't hurt for future processing.

    I hope that the person is able to gets things sorted out soon
     
    • Like
    Reactions: BiggBeans
    there shouldn’t be any fees or fines for a background check mishap. That’s ridiculous. Of if they must be assessed bill it to the gun control retards.
     
    We can hem and haw about this all day long. He should call the state police to see if he has a bench warrant and he can also do his own FBI fingerprint background check.