Denied a Handgun by the Federal Government Despite State Approval
My question involves criminal records for the state of: Minnesota
Hi, I have 3 counts of 5th degree criminal sexual conduct and a DUI that was dropped down to a public nuisance on my record. I am off probation for everything. My issue I'm having is that MN has seen fit to give me a permit to purchase for a handgun but when I went to the store to pick it up, the federal government denied me. I called the NICS customer service line and told the person I had a CSC 5 on my record but it wasn't domestic violence related and he agreed it wouldn't be. He then pulled up the denied claim and said it was denied correctly. I looked up my record after hangin up with him and I have listed everything on it above. Is the denial because I have 3 counts or does it have something to do with the DUI being dropped to a public nuisance? The no contact orders to the victims expired 2-3 years ago when my probation did.
Thanks for your input!
Re: Denied a Handgun Due to a Criminal Sexual Conduct Record
If you were convicted of three counts of violating Minnesota Statutes, Sec. 609.3451, then the issue may be that your charge was kicked up to a felony under subdivision 3 of the statute. Also, if the victim was or had been a member of your household, it could be a domestic violence issue.
Re: Denied a Handgun by the Federal Government Despite State Approval
Thanks for your reply. On my records it says gross misdemeanor for the CSC. The prosecutor said that if I didn't plead guilty to the gross misdemeanor counts she would charge me with a felony.
Re: Denied a Handgun by the Federal Government Despite State Approval
Quote:
Quoting
Forc0022
Thanks for your reply. On my records it says gross misdemeanor for the CSC. The prosecutor said that if I didn't plead guilty to the gross misdemeanor counts she would charge me with a felony.
In order to charge the felony you would have had to have a prior conviction of one of the crimes listed in the statute. Are you quite sure that ALL of your convictions were misdemeanor offenses? If any of your charges were felony offenses as defined by the federal statute (which is any crime where the max sentence is more than a year in jail/prison except for crimes that the state classifies as a misdemeanor, in which case the feds will consider that state misdemeanor a felony if the maximum penalty that could be imposed is more than two years in jail/prison) then you are ineligible to possess a firearm under federal law. If any of your victims were family members, the crime may be considered a crime of domestic violence for the federal firearms law even if the state statute you were convicted under does not specify it is a crime of domestic violence. In that case, too, you are not permitted to own a firearm under federal law.