California Sheriff Denied Gun Purchase over Background Check

[Windwalker]

California Sheriff Denied Gun Purchase over Background Check
 
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/11/28/33-Year-CA-Highway-Patrol-Vet-Current-Sheriff-Denied-Gun-Purchase-Via-Background-Check
 
When Siskiyou County, CA Sheriff John Lopey tried to buy an M1 Garand rifle through the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), he was denied and told he failed to pass the background check conducted via the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Lopey is a sheriff: he carries a gun and enforces the law for a living. Prior to being a sheriff, he spent 33 years with the California Highway Patrol and is a retired Army Colonel. He had Top Secret clearance in the Army.

The FBI handles NICS background checks for firearms purchases. Ironically, Lopey recently went through and passed a background check to attend the FBI national academy.

On November 27th, Lars Larson interviewed Lopey about this situation; Lopey said he did in fact receive a letter from CMP and the FBI telling him he had failed to pass the NICS background check and that the money he had paid for the rifle was being refunded. Astounded by the rejection, he called the FBI/NICS only to be told "it could be some identity theft issue."
Lopey then asked how it was possible that he had passed background checks for firearm purchases within the last year and no answer was given.

Sheriff Lopey said he does not meet any criteria for a purchase rejection. He has a "stellar" law enforcement record, he's never been arrested, never had PTSD, never used illicit drugs, and "never been counseled for mental health care reasons."

In the end, Lopey's only option is to appeal his failed background check and wait for better news. He has already filed his appeal, which included having his own records clerk in his own sheriff's office put together a file on him with new fingerprint cards.

[ICEMAN]

Why do folks gripe about an occasional problem like this? He will get his gun, and everything will be fine.

I know a bit about this system and what I can tell you is that criminal history is a constantly changing thing. How many people get arrested across the country each day? Could any of them have his near exact or exact name and date of birth? Many guys who were approved earlier are later refused because something from their past was finally added to their record, OR....somebody else with matching data was added to an arrest and conviction somewhere....and the Name/Date of Birth search that a firearms search revealed the data.

In the end, he will prove his identity by fingerprints, clear his good name, and get that Garand. He should then file that current data with a secondary database designed to document previous individuals who were falsely denied firearms. This second database is called the Voluntary Appeal File or VAF. Here the clearing of his good name will be documented and preserved so that the next time he applies and the database indicates someone with his name has a felony conviction, it will also point to his entry into the alternate database, and he will be automatically cleared and allowed to proceed with the purchase.

I am sure the good sheriff would not want some convicted felon with a matching name to get a firearm.


Wow guys who don't know how the system work sure whine about it. Shame on Breitbart for posting such a misleading article.

[WoodlandShooter]

Why do folks gripe about an occasional problem like this? He will get his gun, and everything will be fine.

I know a bit about this system and what I can tell you is that criminal history is a constantly changing thing. How many people get arrested across the country each day? Could any of them have his near exact or exact name and date of birth? Many guys who were approved earlier are later refused because something from their past was finally added to their record, OR....somebody else with matching data was added to an arrest and conviction somewhere....and the Name/Date of Birth search that a firearms search revealed the data.

In the end, he will prove his identity by fingerprints, clear his good name, and get that Garand. He should then file that current data with a secondary database designed to document previous individuals who were falsely denied firearms. This second database is called the Voluntary Appeal File or VAF. Here the clearing of his good name will be documented and preserved so that the next time he applies and the database indicates someone with his name has a felony conviction, it will also point to his entry into the alternate database, and he will be automatically cleared and allowed to proceed with the purchase.

I am sure the good sheriff would not want some convicted felon with a matching name to get a firearm.


Wow guys who don't know how the system work sure whine about it. Shame on Breitbart for posting such a misleading article.

^^^this^^^

I get a kick out of that old blowhard Lars Larson...kinda fun listening to him, then clicking over to NPR....between the two, you get the whole scoop...

[returnofsid]

My son was recently denied, about a month after being approved for a prior gun, because of an individual with matching name and dob, with a felony.

There's an individual, here in Spokane, with the exact same name and dob as me, wanted for second degree murder. It's made for a couple interesting traffic stops.

[bowhunterwa87]

All he has to do is appeal it and ask for a upin. Same thing happened to me but now that I have a upin it no longer will.

[rbinhood]

I'm not aware of any system created and operated by humans that functions flawlessly all of the time. Iceman, you hit the nail on the head. 

[DaveS]

I think the Sheriff has a very valid point.  When he inquired as to why he was denied he was met with silence on the subject.  Just because Iceman knows how the system works does not mean everyone does.  Instead of replying as to why he was denied he was stonewalled.   Don't you think everyone has the right to know why they were denied, and/or to be informed on how to follow through to obtain that information?
DaveS

[bigtex]

Why do folks gripe about an occasional problem like this? He will get his gun, and everything will be fine.

I wish I would have read this thread earlier. Jon Lopey is essentially the lead/top/#1 consitutionalist Sheriff and anti-federal sheriff in California. He is one of the main leaders behind creating the State of Jefferson which would essentially create a new state carving counties out of southern Oregon and northern California. I think the only reason this made the news is because it was Lopey. I bet you that if a Sheriff who hasn't made any anti-federal remarks, such as the Kittitas County Sheriff, had their background check failed you wouldn't have heard anything about it and they would have resolved it personally like everyone else does.

[baldopepper]

David Brame (Tacoma police chief who shot his wife in a parking lot and then himself) was also a LEO who supposedly had a spotless record and carried a gun on a regular basis.  Hard to judge not knowing the full story on this situation, but simply being a LEO is not a guarantee of competence to carry a weapon.