I need help determining a person's prohibited status

[BerksCountyDave]

This question came up in a thread I started on a loosely related topic, but that thread is really no longer on topic, so I found it prudent to start a new one.

My uncle and I would like to determine if he is a prohibited person. The facts are seeming to indicate that he isn't, but we're not lawyers by any stretch of the imagination!

Here's the events as I know them:

1. In 1998 or thereabout, he was in an argument with a client. The other man threated him, so my uncle fired 2 shots into the ground. The police were called, my uncle was charged with harrassment, and his firearm was seized by the PSP.

2. The men both appeared in court, they both told their sides of the story, and my uncle was fined $300.

3. Approximately one year later, he received a letter from the PSP stating he could pick up his firearm, which he did.

4. A few months ago, he attempted to purchase a gun and his background check was denied. He's not sure if it was PICS or NICS that denied him. He never received any correspondence in the mail regarding the reason for the denial.

5. Last night, I went on the free PA web docket site to see if I could pull up any records. The only thing that came up was a speeding ticket from 2006. It looks like those records only go back to 2000.

6. This morning I paid the $10.00 to run a criminal background check on him on the PSP website. That check came back as no criminal record.


So, with all this in mind, what would be the next step? Who does he need to contact to determine his firearm status? Does it appear to you, from what's transpired to far that he is indeed a prohibited person?

[bug]

I'm not a surgeon by any stretch of the imagination so if I needed surgery I would enlist the services of a qualified surgeon.

You pose a delicate legal question here so I think you need a qualified lawyer.

Or you could take a more dangerous course of action. If the denial was in PA then it was PICS not NICS. They do not issue a reason for denial unless you appeal. Have unc try to buy another gun in PA. If denied by PICS then follow the appeal process through and PASP will inform him of the reason for the denial. Hopefully that is all they issue. Take whatever action is indicated by that information.

Good luck.

[Brown-Bear]

That would be my suggestion. Use the appeal process and see why Unc got denied. If need be hire a lawyer and go from there. I hope he gets it straightened out. Good luck.

Dave

[skyjerk]

This question came up in a thread I started on a loosely related topic, but that thread is really no longer on topic, so I found it prudent to start a new one.

My uncle and I would like to determine if he is a prohibited person. The facts are seeming to indicate that he isn't, but we're not lawyers by any stretch of the imagination!

Getting denied on a PICS check doesnt mean he is prohibited.

The only way to determine for sure if he will be denied is to try and buy a gun :-)
Lots of folks get denied for various reasons, and then when they file the challenge it gets reversed.

Have him try again to buy a gun. If he gets denied again, file the challenge and see what happens.

[BerksCountyDave]

Getting denied on a PICS check doesnt mean he is prohibited.

The only way to determine for sure if he will be denied is to try and buy a gun :-)
Lots of folks get denied for various reasons, and then when they file the challenge it gets reversed.

Have him try again to buy a gun. If he gets denied again, file the challenge and see what happens.

That's what I'll have him do. Funny thing is, he's not currently looking to buy one. So if for some strange reason the background check is approved he'll have to pull a "umm I changed mind" and not buy the gun. But somehow I doubt that'll happen. Thanks for the advice everyone.

[skyjerk]

Funny thing is, he's not currently looking to buy one. .

Silly me.

When you said he tried to buy one a couple months ago and was denied, and then was asking questions about how to determine if he is prohibited or not, I leaped to the far fetched conclusion that he wanted one.

If he isn't interested in buying a gun, whats with all the questioning?

[BerksCountyDave]

Silly me.

When you said he tried to buy one a couple months ago and was denied, and then was asking questions about how to determine if he is prohibited or not, I leaped to the far fetched conclusion that he wanted one.

If he isn't interested in buying a gun, whats with all the questioning?

He wants to get a couple in the fairly near future, but not immediately. We'd both like to determine his status, however. It sounds like having a PICS check run is the only way to find out, though.

[skyjerk]

He wants to get a couple in the fairly near future, but not immediately. We'd both like to determine his status, however. It sounds like having a PICS check run is the only way to find out, though.

Unfortunately its true. Only way to know for sure is to try to buy a gun.

Its embarrassing being declined in the store. I know cuz it happened to me.
I got it reversed after I filed the challenge, but that doesn't change the fact that I had to get embarrassed in front of a store full of customers in order to discover the problem.

I suspected ahead of time I may have an issue, but there was no way to test it.

I was not surprised when I was denied, but it was still embarrassing.

[BerksCountyDave]

Unfortunately its true. Only way to know for sure is to try to buy a gun.

Its embarrassing being declined in the store. I know cuz it happened to me.
I got it reversed after I filed the challenge, but that doesn't change the fact that I had to get embarrassed in front of a store full of customers in order to discover the problem.

I suspected ahead of time I may have an issue, but there was no way to test it.

I was not surprised when I was denied, but it was still embarrassing.

He's going to go to some store he doesn't plan on being a regular at, just to avoid the weirdness that would be in the air upon returning to a place he'd been denied at.

[Warsaw Pact]

2. The men both appeared in court, they both told their sides of the story, and my uncle was fined $300.

So he was found guilty of harassment?

The big issue would be if he was found guilty of a crime of violence in the commonwealth that would carry a setence of over 2 years. Can you fill us in on this part?

If the PSP gave him back his pistol (rather than keeping it or destroying it) it sounds like he is good to go. If he was a prohib person, they would have kept the pistol.

I agree- go to a random store, don't do it at a crowded Walmart or something.