Need help...no one can give me an answer

[Nathan]

Hello,

I am unsure if I am allowed to purchase firearms due to my past. As a juvenile I was charged with assault and a misdermeanor and sent to placement for one year. Afterwards doing good I was put on probation for 6 months. My last meeting with my probation officer she said that my record will now be cleared unless I did something bad again then they would resurface. I asked her about jobs and what would I sign when they asked if I was ever convicted of a crime. She said to mark "No". I have had several jobs since and I marked all "no" convictions on that answer and no red flags have ever come up. So am I allowed to purchase firearms? It's been bothering me ever since. Not that I am a big gun guy but its a freedom that most have and a dark cloud that still hovers me a little from my past. I have tried asking everyone and no one can give me an answer. I have tried the local sheriff, a lawyer, gun shop owners, etc and no one can give me a straight answer. I have been doing good for 8 years now.


Thanks,
Nate(24)

[Curmudgeon]

What you were charged with is irrelevant. All that matters is what you were convicted of.

Click the link below. It is a .pdf of the actual BATFE form you will have to fill out in order to complete a purchase. Pay particular attention to questions starting at #11, and there are instructions on pages starting on page 4...

http://www.atf.gov/forms/download/atf-f-4473.pdf

Good luck, and welcome to PAFOA.
.

[GunLawyer001]

The juvenile justice system is not the same as the adult system, principally because juveniles are usually "adjudicated delinquent" rather than "convicted of a crime".

[Nathan]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the timely replies it is much appreciated. So all in all it looks like I can?

Regarding the form all questions under 11 I understand except I am unsure of questions 11.f and 11.i .

[AKsRule]

11 F - This means being actually sent to a mental health facility or ordered to undergo treatment by written order of the authorities.


11 I - This would mean there is an actual record of a conviction for a misdemeanor - this would show up when the NICs computer check is done.

[MDJschool]

As a juvenile I was charged with assault and a misdermeanor and sent to placement for one year. Afterwards doing good I was put on probation for 6 months. My last meeting with my probation officer she said that my record will now be cleared unless I did something bad again then they would resurface.

In which state?

[Nathan]

Im gonna point to say it looks like I can. I live in Pa and was sent to placement after a plea bargan. Also note that I was selected for jury service last November and have been voting. No red flags on that either. So all in all I read everything over several times, studied and even went to a gun shop and looks like I can purchase firearms.

Also btw: I live in Bradford County, Pa. In case anyone here visits.

Thanks,
Nathan

[n1fhpa]

11 I - This would mean there is an actual record of a conviction for a misdemeanor - this would show up when the NICs computer check is done.

The way I read 11 i, it is specific to domestic violence, not any misdemeanor. I was convicted of a (non-prohibiting) misdemeanor years ago and have always answered "no" to this question when purchasing firearms and have never had any issues. Am I wrong?

[Duece McCracken]

I was a bit of a troublemaker back in the day, i did some placement, and had some felonies brought against me, none of which were violent crimes. I was a juvenile for the whole ordeal. It was some dumb stuff, nobody got hurt, nothing crazy. I am now 100 percent legit working class guy who owns firearms, and has a carry permit. So you should probably be fine.

[Arrdy]

Want to be sure .... stop at the local PD and pick up an Act 34 Criminal Background Check form. If they ask why you want one, just tell them it's for personal information. Send the form to Harrisburg with the correct $$$ and wait a couple weeks.

It's the only way to really know what you have as a criminal record. The same department that will check your background also does the background checks for firearm purchases.

FYI: All they look at is your Name and date of birth and more then once people have been mistaken for someone else. I had to do the process 4 times (with fingerprints) until I got a "good boy" letter. Then, in 2009 I was "dead" for 6 months .... and I didn't even know it. That's another story.