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Gun ownership 2

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texaswoodworker

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TEXAS

Ok, I don't know why my last thread was closed but I want to set a few things straight.

1. I was NOT admitted to a mental hospital because I was a brat. I never said that. I said I was a brat at the time but I didn't say that was the reason I was addmitted. I was admitted because I misbehaved a lot and they probably thought there was some underlying reason.

2. I have tried to find out if I was diagnosed with anything. I cannot find anything so I assume I was not diagnosed with anything.

3. I just learned that juvenile record can be sealed once you turn 18. So anything that would of showed up will now be lost.

4. If I go to a store, they do a background check, and I pass. There will be no problems. I will walk out of that store with my new gun in hand. End of story.

Have a nice day.



P.S. Thank you to everyone who actually helped me.
 


Proserpina

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TEXAS

Ok, I don't know why my last thread was closed but I want to set a few things straight.

1. I was NOT admitted to a mental hospital because I was a brat. I never said that. I said I was a brat at the time but I didn't say that was the reason I was addmitted. I was admitted because I misbehaved a lot and they probably thought there was some underlying reason.

2. I have tried to find out if I was diagnosed with anything. I cannot find anything so I assume I was not diagnosed with anything.

3. I just learned that juvenile record can be sealed once you turn 18. So anything that would of showed up will now be lost.

4. If I go to a store, they do a background check, and I pass. There will be no problems. I will walk out of that store with my new gun in hand. End of story.

Have a nice day.



P.S. Thank you to everyone who actually helped me.


Good luck.

.
 

CavemanLawyer

Senior Member
The sealing of a juvenile record is not always automatic so it may not be sealed. Even if it is, when a Juvenile record is "sealed" it means the file is literally sealed with a piece of tape, it is not destroyed. The sealing just means that nobody can view it without a court order. YOU will have no problem viewing your own sealed juvenile record.

Psychiatric evaluations are done very frequently with juvenile cases (too much in my opinion.) Either party can move for it and the motion then forces the court to consider evidence and make a finding which they usually won't do without the benefit of a psychiatric report first. For certain sanction levels (5 & 6) that result in the child being removed from the home and placed in a secure facility, a psychiatric evaluation is almost always ordered. I have seen this happen even when there really is no good reason to believe the child has a mental illness. But each county handles things differently.
 

mistoffolees

Senior Member
Thank you. I'm going to go see if the local pawn shop (they have the biggest selection of guns in town) has a mosin nagant for sale. It's a good all around rifle and the ammo is dirt cheap.:D
Once again, be prepared that you may be breaking the law. Is owning a gun worth going to jail for?

Even if they fail to do a background check or even if they do a background check and miss your time in the mental institution, YOU are the one violating USC 922. The code is very specific and says that if you have been committed for a mental illness, you can not own a gun. The U.S. code doesn't require any specific diagnosis - merely the fact that you have been committed (if, indeed, you meet the legal definition of 'committed') prevents you from owning a gun.

Texas law apparently only excludes gun ownership with specific diagnoses - but that doesn't get around U.S. law.


You are being insanely foolish if you go out and buy a gun without taking all of your information to a local attorney for an evaluation. It might not even cost anything. But it could save you very severe consequences.
 

mistoffolees

Senior Member
The sealing of a juvenile record is not always automatic so it may not be sealed. Even if it is, when a Juvenile record is "sealed" it means the file is literally sealed with a piece of tape, it is not destroyed. The sealing just means that nobody can view it without a court order. YOU will have no problem viewing your own sealed juvenile record.

Psychiatric evaluations are done very frequently with juvenile cases (too much in my opinion.) Either party can move for it and the motion then forces the court to consider evidence and make a finding which they usually won't do without the benefit of a psychiatric report first. For certain sanction levels (5 & 6) that result in the child being removed from the home and placed in a secure facility, a psychiatric evaluation is almost always ordered. I have seen this happen even when there really is no good reason to believe the child has a mental illness. But each county handles things differently.
Yes, but 2-3 weeks solely for an evaluation? Not likely.

It sounds to me like OP is convinced that he's going to get a gun whether it's legal or not and isn't making any real effort to find out the details. Heck, he doesn't even know how long he was in for.

Sorry, but it makes me very nervous when we have:
1. Someone who was institutionalized for at least a couple of weeks for some type of alleged mental illness
2. A strong desire to own a gun
3. A willingness to find ways to circumvent the law to try to avoid a criminal background check
4. A willingness to simply ignore USC 922 and pretend that it doesn't apply - even though he admits that he doesn't know what happened when he was institutionalized.

There have been too many cases where people with mental illness purchased and used Guns - Columbine, Virginia tech, etc, etc, etc - for me to be comfortable with this. There really is no other correct action than for him to get a copy of his records (by subpoena, if necessary) and talk with a local attorney about whether he can legally own a gun.


And it's really disgusting when people like Free_Advice tell him to just ignore the law and buy a gun from a private individual because there won't be a background check.
 
Last edited:

CavemanLawyer

Senior Member
Any more posts and this thread is likely going to get locked like the last one. (and for good reason.) The original poster has all the information he needs. He can be careful and go check out his file in the County where this happened, or he can go out and just take his chances.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
2. A strong desire to own a gun
Would a person who really really wanted to exercise their right to free speech bother you? Or a person who really really wanted to vote? Since when is a "strong desire" to exercise a fundamental Constitutional right a bad thing?

The Brady Campaign web site is two doors down by the way.

3. A willingness to find ways to circumvent the law to try to avoid a criminal background check
Your position is that the OP is is probably disqualified regardless due to history so why does it matter if there is a background check? Or are you saying the background check will confirm that he can legally own a gun? Which is it? You can't have it both ways.

Columbine
The Columbine shooters illegally acquired/stole their weapons so it doesn't really matter what the laws were. The OP here is making an effort to ensure he is compliance with the law. Completely apples and oranges.

You are being insanely foolish if you go out and buy a gun without taking all of your information to a local attorney for an evaluation. It might not even cost anything. But it could save you very severe consequences.
Oh please. The law is not complicated. If he isn't disqualified then he isn't disqualified. You don't need a law degree to figure out if you can legally purchase/own a gun.
 

mistoffolees

Senior Member
Would a person who really really wanted to exercise their right to free speech bother you? Or a person who really really wanted to vote? Since when is a "strong desire" to exercise a fundamental Constitutional right a bad thing?

The Brady Campaign web site is two doors down by the way.
Maybe it's time you learned that Constitutional rights are not unlimited. You can't shout 'Fire' in a crowded movie theatre, for example. The right to own guns is limited by USC 922 and by state laws.

Your position is that the OP is is probably disqualified regardless due to history so why does it matter if there is a background check? Or are you saying the background check will confirm that he can legally own a gun? Which is it? You can't have it both ways.
Please stop misquoting me. The fact that you can't even be honest about what I'm saying suggests that you are in an indefensible position.

My position is that a simple reading of the law suggests that OP may not be allowed to own a gun under Federal or state law. Therefore, it is incumbent on him to find out if the law applies or not before he goes out and buys a gun. And under no circumstances is it appropriate to buy a gun from a private individual with the sole intention of circumventing the law.

The Columbine shooters illegally acquired/stole their weapons so it doesn't really matter what the laws were. The OP here is making an effort to ensure he is compliance with the law. Completely apples and oranges.
No, he's not. He's trying to find a way to circumvent the law - and you supported that by telling him to buy the gun from a third party.

Oh please. The law is not complicated. If he isn't disqualified then he isn't disqualified. You don't need a law degree to figure out if you can legally purchase/own a gun.
That's true. A simple reading of USC 922 says that he's not qualified to own a gun. He can, however, check with an attorney to see if there might be some reason that the simple black and white statements don't apply.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
Maybe it's time you learned that Constitutional rights are not unlimited.
Nobody is saying otherwise. What you said was that you were worried that a citizen wished to exercise a Constitutional right. Or did I misunderstand you?


Please stop misquoting me.
How am I misquoting you? You don't belive the OP can legally own a gun. Therefore it doesn't matter whether he buys from a store and passes a background check or buys from a private person and there is no background check. It's illegal for him to own the gun either way according to you.



My position is that a simple reading of the law suggests that OP may not be allowed to own a gun under Federal or state law.
You're entitled to your opinion but unless you can point to a specific reason why he is disqualified then it's not a legally correct opinion.

No, he's not. He's trying to find a way to circumvent the law - and you supported that by telling him to buy the gun from a third party.
I don't believe the OP is disqualified to own a gun therefore I was not suggesting he circumvent anything. I was just letting him know that it is legal in Texas to purchase a rifle from an individual. There are other legal reasons why one may want to buy a rifle from a individual.
 

texaswoodworker

Junior Member
Even if they fail to do a background check or even if they do a background check and miss your time in the mental institution, YOU are the one violating USC 922. The code is very specific and says that if you have been committed for a mental illness, you can not own a gun.
What part of "I was never diagnosed with a mental disorder" are you not getting?
 

mistoffolees

Senior Member
What part of "I was never diagnosed with a mental disorder" are you not getting?
Interesting that you left out part of OP's quote. The entire quote was: " I cannot find anything so I assume I was not diagnosed with anything."

What part of USC 922 do you not understand? He doesn't need to have been diagnosed. He simply needs to have been committed and that makes it illegal for him to own a gun.

Furthermore, he claims not to know anything about the events. So he doesn't know if he was diagnosed or not. If he really cared, he could find out unless all of his relatives are deceased and the courts have stopped functioning in TX.
 
And it's really disgusting when people like Free_Advice tell him to just ignore the law and buy a gun from a private individual because there won't be a background check.
Ahem, I never said to buy from a private seller. I don't see anything that disqualifies the OP from a gun purchase. Others do because they are anti-gun.
 
What part of USC 922 do you not understand? He doesn't need to have been diagnosed. He simply needs to have been committed and that makes it illegal for him to own a gun.

Furthermore, he claims not to know anything about the events. So he doesn't know if he was diagnosed or not. If he really cared, he could find out unless all of his relatives are deceased and the courts have stopped functioning in TX.
The OP could have been admitted to a mental hospital and they found out a standard medical condition applied that was not a mental condition -- nothing stated here shows he was committed.
 

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