•2 years ago
- Created Date: 4/19/2013 2:52:28 PM.
- While there has been a sizable increase in NICS checks in recent years, resulting from record demand for firearms, suspending the NICS denial appeals process is not an acceptable means of meeting.
The Voluntary Appeal File (VAF) process permits applicants to request the NICS maintain information about themselves in the VAF to prevent future erroneous denials or extended delays of a firearm.
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Hey Guys, Before I share my story, know that I am telling the 100% truth in everything I am writing. I have already contacted my Congressman and Senator in an attempt to get my Appeal processed a little bit sooner that 18 months. And while I know that my Ohio CCW that I'll soon receive will allow me to bypass the NICS, I'd like to point out that that is simply a loophole around the actual issue. The issue here? An innocent man (Me) was accused of being a criminal by the FBI when I have been nothing but a law abiding citizen. I want them to admit they were wrong, and I want an apology along with it. A man must stand by principles. Here is my story:
After taking my CCW Safety and Instruction course (as is required for a CCW license in Ohio) I set up a meeting with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s office here in Cincinnati to apply for my official CCW license. I decided to purchase the firearm I would carry exactly one week before my meeting at the Sheriff’s office. Having purchased a firearm in Kentucky before (my previous state of residence) and also knowing that had no criminal record of any kind, I was convinced that there would be no issue with me purchasing a handgun and passing the required NICS background check administered by the FBI. I bought a firearm online and had it shipped to my local gun shop where I went to pick it up and have my background check done to confirm my eligibility. To my astonishment, I was DENIED the purchase by the NICS system. As I said, I knew my record was clean as could be, and I had even purchased a firearm a year and half earlier and hadn’t gotten so much as a speeding ticket since then. Thus, this NICS denial was, without a hint of a doubt, a system error.
I immediately filed an appeal on the NICS website and asked the reason for my denial. The next day, I went to the Sheriff’s office and paid to have myself fingerprinted. I scanned these fingerprints to my computer and sent them with yet another appeal on the NICS website. I then printed off the Voluntary Appeal File (VAF) form from the NICS website that allows persons to apply for a Unique Personal Identification Number (UPIN). I filled out the VAF form, attached an original fingerprint card and a copy of my driver’s license, and priority mailed all of it to the NICS Appeals office in West Virginia. Finally, I scanned all of these documents yet again and had all of them faxed to the NICS Appeals office. I made several attempts to call the NICS toll-free number, but was never able to speak to a single agent. Every time I was forwarded to a prerecorded message stating “we are no longer giving status updates on appeals” or “due to high call volumes, we are unable to take your call at this time”. In my worry, I went online and paid for 2 separate background checks on myself to confirm my innocence. As suspected, I was unable to find anything criminal associated with my name.
A week passed and I went to the Sheriff’s office for my CCW application meeting with the Sheriff Deputy. I told him of my occurrence with NICS and so he took my ID and other information and ran it in the NCIC database… he found nothing on me. He stated that “There are four people named N**** J**** with a birthdate similar to yours that are ineligible to purchase firearms. However, you aren’t on here. I’m not sure what happened, but somehow they seemed to have mixed you up with someone else.” The deputy proceeded by allowing me to scan my fingerprints into the system for an FBI+BCI criminal background check. He said all CCW applicants do this in order to be sure that their fingerprints are not associated with any crimes by the state or FBI. Since I have never had to give my fingerprints for anything other than the aforementioned NICS appeal process, I plan on receiving my Ohio CCW within the next 3 weeks.
When I got home from work on the day of my appointment, there was a letter in the mail from the U.S. Department of Justice addressed to me. It contained the reason of my NICS denial, stating that I had been, “Convicted of a crime in any court punishable by more than one year or a misdemeanor punishable by more than two years.” Clearly this accusation was false and incorrect, as the Sheriff Deputy had confirmed earlier that day. On the last page of the letter, it stated that “NICS appeals were processed in the order from which they are received. The NICS Section’s Appeal Services Team is currently processing appeal cases and Voluntary Appeal File (VAF) cases received in August 2015.” This would mean that the earliest my name can be cleared and allowed to purchase firearms would be in 18 months.
How can a government agency legally withhold my second amendment right for 18 months on the basis of a false accusation that other law enforcement agencies are able to debunk and validate as erroneous? This is an infringement on my rights as laid out by the U.S. Constitution and no one seems to be able to help me correct this atrocity that has cost me close to $100 in paperwork and shipping charges to prove my innocence. I am in need of all the help I can get on this issue.
![Nics voluntary appeal form template Nics voluntary appeal form template](https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/vaf-form-25.pdf/@@download/image/dump_1.gif)
Nics Voluntary Appeal Fingerprint Form
Update #1: So on Monday, March 13th, I got a call from the Sheriff's Office that I had, in fact, PASSED my FBI fingerprint background check and that I was free to come and get my CCW. I now have an Ohio CCW license that required an FBI background check to acquire, yet I was denied my gun by the FBI because of my background. AHHHHHH!!!!! So I went back to the FFL and tried to buy my gun with just my CCW (as some suggested since this is allowed in Ohio), and the shop guys were seriously confused. They'd never seen someone get denied and THEN pass the fingerprint check and receive a CCW. They'd seen the other way around (get a CCW, then get denied by NICS), but I was a first for them. I think the shop owner believed me with this newfound proof of innocence, but he wanted to err on the side of caution and call a local sheriff deputy that helped them out with stuff like this, just to make sure that giving me the gun and/or rerunning a NICS was legally OK. So He copied my CCW and driver's licence and took down my phone number. The deputy is apparently going to call me this Friday after he speaks with the ATF/FBI about what the hell is going on. He may have some questions for me too to try and pinpoint any confusion that may be smearing my name in the NICS system. I'll update y'all once I find out more. The saga continues..
Update #2: Update #2 (one month after the initial NICS denial): So here is my newest update with my situation. I got yet another letter from the FBI regarding my NICS denial. The letter said I needed to update my court documents to show that I was eligible to purchase firearms at the time of purchase in order to have the denial overturned. Makes sense, except.. I DON'T HAVE ANY COURT DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE I DIDN'T BREAK THE LAW!! So the final section of the letter says 'If you do not believe you are the person discussed here with the prohibiting record, you need to contact the following agency and have them send us personal information regarding this case that would support your identity claim.' The 'agency' they referred me to was the Superior Court #5 in Noblesville, Indiana. I have never lived in Noblesville, nor have I ever even been to court in Indiana for anything under the sun! So how the hell was I supposed to acquire someone else's court documents for a crime that I had absolutely no hints towards except that it was PROBABLY a felony and were linked to some guy with my same name. Well, I got lucky. So I call the court clerk in Noblesville and explain the situation. The attendant on the phone was very nice and helpful (a trait that has become quite sparse in most town and city halls). She had to forward me to another department to see if they had ever experienced anything like this (they hadn’t). However, a neat fact was that Superior Court #5 is the court they use in Noblesville for, primarily, traffic related issues. For those of you with a knack for criminal law, you probably already know that it is next to impossible to have a permanent felonious stain on your criminal record for a mere traffic violation… but then they found a guy with a Class D Felony for drugs. His name? Mine (except our middle names were totally different). His race, sex, and weight? White Male, 180 lbs. Eye color? Same as me. Birthdate? I was born in October so mine starts with “10-DD-YYYY”. He was born in January on the same DAY AND YEAR, so his read “01-Same Day-Same Year”. Clearly, I had found my nemesis. My pernicious slug-minded white trash doppelganger had a history of run-ins with the law, probably because he doesn’t have any friends. Therefore, I asked for a copy of all of this idiot’s court records that they had, and also asked that they be send to the FBI NICS department as requested in the letter I received. So finally, since they “didn’t feel comfortable sending another guy’s court documents to the FBI at my request” they gladly agreed to have the documents certified (notarized) by the County Clerk and mailed to me, free of charge. I am still awaiting these documents. The same day I called the Noblesville court, I got a call from the gun shop AND a call from my Congressman’s office. The gun shop manager was just telling me that he spoke with the sheriff deputy that he had told me about and said that he could send it back to the online retailer and then have the retailer send it to a different FFL so that I could try the NICS check again. I said to just wait a little longer, because I had found the felon that I was mixed up with and needed to send the FBI court documents first. Later on, the Congressman’s office called me and a very nice lady that worked there told me that she had received all of my documents and had just sent them to their contact at the FBI, and that they can usually hear something back from the FBI within 14 days. I also told her of my court findings, and she asked me to fax her the court documents the day I get them so that she can also have them forwarded to their FBI contact. I’M FINALLY MAKING PROGRESS HERE PEOPLE!!!!
**Side Note: Two weeks after I got denied by the NICS, I went to a gun show with my dad and decided to try my luck at buying an AR-15. I filed out the 4473 form EXACTLY as I had before, and guess what… I PASSED! So now I have successfully passed an FBI fingerprint background check and a NICS check for an assault rifle, but I still can’t get the FBI to send me a simple letter saying they were WRONG?! It’s official… the government got way too big. More updates to come…
FINAL UPDATE: Well folks, I have AMAZING news. About three weeks ago, I did, in fact, receive a letter in the mail from the Dept. of Justice/FBI informing me that 'After further review of the court documents provided, the NICS Appeals team has determined that I am eligible to purchase and own firearms'. Hallelujah!!!! The other cool part is I also got my UPIN to clarify who I am on any future purchases of firearms. It really sucks that our system is set up in a way where innocent people like myself have to go through hell and high water just to prove they are law-abiding citizens, but at least my tenacity paid off. Again, for ANYONE in this situation, the secret to getting this done in a timely manner is to IMMEDIATELY contact the offices of your Congressmen and Senators (ideally, your Republican ones) and explain your situation to them and request a 'Congressional Inquiry to the FBI on your behalf'. This is what I had to do in order to overcome my issue in about a 6 week time frame. I hope my story helps out those lost souls that felt as violated as I did when I was denied my second amendment right. Freedom is never free, Y'all. When the going gets rough, you can't expect the cavalry to come and save you, especially when it's Uncle Sam you need saving from. All we can do is continue to press for better legislation on gun rights and hope that one day we can adapt a system that allows guns to be distributed safely and fairly, while keeping them out of the hands of TRUE bad men and women. Feel free to PM me if anyone needs more info on how to Appeal the NICS. Downloadable newsletter templates for word. Thanks again, Reddit, and God Bless the USA!
Fbi Nics Voluntary Appeal File
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