How far back should a background check go?

tideman

Maryland officials age going overboard in background checks. "They" are out to make all citizens of Maryland nothing more than subjects. Read this and decide for yourself if you want to live in this state, pay their taxes and give up your freedom. If you live in Maryland you better get ready for a VISIT!!!!TidemanMaryland Citizen of the Year Denied Carry License RenewalDonald G. Arnold is a Vietnam veteran and president of his neighborhood association. He was named a "citizen of the year" by Maryland in 2000 for his work with police in southeast Baltimore to stop drug dealers and make the city safer, according to The Washington Times.None of that mattered, however, when Arnold tried to renew his license to carry a gun that he needed in his work as a private detective and security guard. What mattered was that he was convicted in 1969 of a misdemeanor in a barroom scuffle after a man who spotted his Army jacket called him a "baby killer."Arnold no longer can carry a gun on the job, and the restriction, he estimates, has cost him about $10,000 in work he has had to turn down, The Times reported.On the advice of Maryland's attorney general, state police are denying guns and permits and even seizing firearms from people with decades-old convictions.Federal law disqualifies a person from possessing a firearm if he or she is convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year or of a state offense-including misdemeanors and common-law offenses-punishable by more than two years.But Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. argues that a 1996 decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals allows state police to disqualify a person from possessing firearms based on the sentence he could have received.State police said they soon will begin searching databases for gunowners with disqualifying offenses on their records.Maryland state Sen. Perry Sfikas, whose district includes Arnold's Baltimore neighborhood, said he supports "reasonable gun control" but is baffled by Arnold's case."That's not appropriate. Don's a wonderful individual, and he's been an absolute blessing to the communities of southeast Baltimore," said Sfikas, a Democrat.Arnold, who was 21 years old at the time of the scuffle, spent a night in jail and the next day went before a judge without an attorney. He was found guilty, received a 60-day sentence-all suspended except the day served-and was placed on unsupervised probation."No one showed up, nobody gave testimony-if I'd had a lawyer, I wouldn't have been convicted of anything," Arnold said.One gunowner had a 1983 conviction come back to haunt him, according to The Times.Maryland State Police seized firearms from Larry L. Dicken's home outside Cumberland in August, even taking with them his hunting rifle.In conducting a background check on Dicken for a handgun purchase, police discovered that he had been involved in a 1983 shoving match over a property line.

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GreenLantern

Is Attorney General an elected position? If so this guy needs to be voted out of office ASAP!!!

mudge

I know how far back they go for me. 1958!!!!It's still on the books in Albuquerque and the Feds won't expunge it and it was a dismissed case!!!!Mudge the innocent

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I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!

tideman

Mudge, So much for "innocent until proven guilty", right? What did you do to get in such a mess?Tideman

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"Don't shoot to stop 'em, Shoot to Destroy 'em!"

He Dog

Here in Albuquerque he is still remembered as Mudge the infamous!

223believer

You guys have been carping and moaning some much about California that you missed Maryland. That state makes California look like Texas. Magazine restrictions, attempts to flat-out ban handguns--Glendening just hates guns and won't stop until they're all gone. I admire him for trying to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, but as far as guns goes he's a huge menace.

mudge

If I told you, you'd tell someone else and they'd tell someone else and then I'd have to kill all of you.Suffice it to say that it was in my "ute" and an error in judgement. It did, however, put the "fear" into me. I was the last in line to go before the judge and his record was stuck on "2 years in Santa Fe" for ALL five of the guys in front of me. I was prepared to go to the slammer and that's NOT where a young man as pretty as I was, wanted to be. When he said "dismissed", I almost fell down. The Air Force had sent an Air Police S/Sgt to either bring me back to the base or do whatever if I was going to Santa Fe. He happened to be one of my drinking buddies. We went back to the base via a few saloons.Mudge the incredibly fortunate

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I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!

dh

If a LEO pulls you over on a traffic stop how far back will his routine check go and how thorough is it? In Texas.

salzo

How old is this Federal law that prohibits someone from being allowed to own a firearm if they were convicted of a crime in which they "could" have done a certain amount of time?What I am getting at, is if, say in 1958 I pleaded down, so that I could avoid jail time-even though I could of received jail time for what I plead down to, but was assured I would not get jail time if I took the plea.Now comes along a federal law that says I "could" have gotten jail time(even though I did not), so therefore I am prevented from owning a firearm. Isnt that an "ex post facto" law? Couldnt one in this situation argue that since that was not the law of the land when I accepted the plea, I should not be subject to a law that was created AFTER accepting the plea?This is assuming that the Federal law was written AFTER 1958. Does anyone know when this law was written?

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Happiness is a warm gun

SUBMARINER

ALOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH THAT CRACKERHEAD GOVERNOR OF THEIRS.I THINK THEY NEED A BUMPER STICKER THAT SAYS"SEND PARRIS PACKING"

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SUBMARINE SAILOR,TRUCK DRIVER,NE'ER DO WELL, INSTIGATOR,AND RUSTY WALLACE FAN

barto

this balogna about only keeping records for "X" no. of years is just that- donkey d%%k. the records invariably go back to around the time that charcoal was invented.and anyone who is naive enough to consider record expunging is in for a LARGE surprise.(at least in oregon)the instructions for expungement (is that a word?) cover 4 pages & are in deep lawyerspeak. almost an impossibility.jmho barto

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the hard stuff we do right away - the impossible takes a little longer

dh

I think the word some of you want is "pardon".If a person is convicted of a felony he/she may request a pardon from the state(Texas)by getting the forms from TDCJ and there must be no arrest for several years after the sentence was served.IF the pardon goes thru the state then you have to apply for a federal pardon and go through all that to get your rights back.However,a person may serve on a jury if convicted of a felony if he/she were never imprisoned,meaning the person got probation.But,still no voting and no firearms (outside of your home),I think.And if you think getting a pardon is easy you better think again,no matter who you know,unless it's the governor or something.[This message has been edited by dh (edited 02-23-2002).]

competentone

I like G. Gordon Liddy's position--with his conviction (dating to the 1970's Watergate break-in) he's not allowed to own firearms, but as he says, "Mrs. Liddy keeps a very impressive arsenal."

Txs

Earlier this week I ran a roadside NCIC criminal history check on a guy that showed an AWOL charge from 1947. This was the only entry on his record.Jeez!