OP on Reddit goes to buy a gun for the first time since the new WSP background check system arrived. WSP flags him for a juvenile felony that was sealed. Purchase is denied. Then his CPL gets revoked. WSP is now saying that he cannot own firearms in WA state due to his juvenile record, which was not a problem before (guy even has NFA stamps), and he now has 15 days to turn over all guns to the state.

Terrifying

First thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/WAGuns/comments/1ciypoc/wsp_denial_of_firearm_purchase/

Update thread - everything gets worse: https://www.reddit.com/r/WAGuns/comments/1cnp5yh/update_to_denial_of_firearm_purchase_by_wsp/

You mean felonies committed while a juvenile still impact you as an adult?  I don’t think the young gangsters heard about this, they continue their armed robberies and car thefts.

I avoid Reddit ever since their election interference by deleting the The_Donald subreddit for being too effective.

I think the bigger issue is nobody really knows what the WSP is going to trip you up on now.

I had an MIP when I was a teenager for getting busted with weed. It was thrown out on diversion. How do I know the WSP wouldn't dig that up and consider me a prohibited person?

Add to the list of reasons I may never buy a gun again while I live here.

I, too, will never buy another gun here. But, I will go to extreme measures to keep what I have.

maybe the plan is to stop people from buying guns in the first place, just a thought, with all the attack on retailers and restrictions to purchase.

If his juvenile felony is sealed, all the WSP should see is a sealed record.

Lawyer up and sue, or build a "killdozer"

No surprise those pathetic glorified traffic cops have nothing better to do.

WA has likely passed a law allowing them to use that info

The lesson here is for anyone with any kind of sealed record to contact a lawyer and ensure firearm rights are fully restored before submitting to any kind of background check.

THIS was triggered by an application but if you bought a pistol in the past few years you signed a form that said you agree to annual background checks.

If you have a sealed record even if you don't apply for another purchase it's only a matter of time until they come for you.

So if you do - start the rights restoration process NOW.

Felonies count, juvenile or adult. Dealing a court record does not make the conviction disappear.

Unfortunately, RCW 9.41.40 identifies adult or juvenile as persons who are subjected to the prohibited acts. I would never trust a court to keep "sealed" records sealed.  

And rabbit-holing a bit, I found this block of text disconcerting as well, from bill 6246 that was passed & signed by Inslee:

(8) If at any time the court dismisses charges under subsections (1) through (7) of this section, the court shall make a finding as to whether the defendant has a history of one or more violent acts. If the court so finds, the ((defendant is barred)) court shall issue an order prohibiting the defendant from the possession of firearms until a court restores his or her right to possess a firearm under RCW29 9.41.047.

Context - it's the bill outlining "by reason of insanity" cases - or in today's vernacular - mental health/red flag laws.

If charges are dismissed (which can happen for any variety of reasons, including clerical errors, sometimes witch hunts, etc.), you can get your rights stripped. But here's the kicker:

One of the subsections deals with "serious vehicle offense," and here's the text:
(4) Beginning October 1, 2023, if the defendant is charged with a serious traffic offense under RCW 9.94A.030, the court may order the clerk to transmit an order to the department of licensing for revocation of the defendant's driver's license for a period of one year. The court shall direct the clerk to transmit an order to the department of licensing reinstating the defendant's driver's license if the defendant is subsequently restored to competency, and may do
so at any time before the end of one year for good cause upon the petition of the defendant.

RCW 9.94A.030 pertinent section:
(45) "Serious traffic offense" means:
(a) Nonfelony driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug (RCW 46.61.502), nonfelony actual physical control while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug (RCW 46.61.504), reckless driving (RCW 46.61.500), or hit-and-run an attended vehicle (RCW 46.52.020(5)); or
(b) Any federal, out-of-state, county, or municipal conviction for an offense that under the laws of this state would be classified as a serious traffic offense under (a) of this subsection.

So it looks like a DUI charge can lead to 2A rights removed if you've had any sort of run-ins with Johnny Law.

Same should apply to voting. After all, if it's okay to strip away 1 right, it should be the same for any other.

That's not the best example, considering certain behaviors can indeed cost you your voting rights.

The DOD has moved to a semi-automated system to monitor folks with security clearances for derogatory information. Few years back I had to help a field grade officer who was accused of stealing an electronic item as a teen- in a different state, 10+ years earlier. He had all his court paperwork showing he was cleared of any wrongdoing, but there was still an artifact in some podunk Texas system showing an outstanding warrant for him.

It took weeks of back and forth for his clearance to get fixed, and for all I know he’s still trying to get the Texas PD to fix their documents.

I think as places digitize old records, or scrapers pick up keywords without human-in-loop to verify context there’s going to be a lot of false-positives/issues that cause problems for folks trying to do background checks/clearances, etc.

Which is how gun ownership is being treated, & which this court decision is questioning/rethinking. It's either okay to strip an inalienable right (because it is inalienable), or not.

I hope he can transfer them to someone else until he gets it sorted.  Give them to WSP and he'll either never get them back or get them back ruined.

We were told that the new WSP system accesses juvenile and mental health records that NICS never had access to. This was stated by the Spokane PD records division.

It has resulted in a bunch of people who were always proceeded in the past now being denied. It’s not a fun day in the shop when you have to deal with one of these.

Imagine having a federal TS but getting denied on a purchase of a .22 by WSP