FBI Reverses NICS Denial after Lawsuit Filed

A citizen denied his right to purchase a firearm even though he is not a prohibited person has won admission from the government that his appeal has been recognized, Stamboulieh Law, PLLC announced Thursday.  The client has been trying since 2010 to get his denial reversed.

It took retaining a lawyer and filing suit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to force the needed government review of the case, and to finally obtain a positive response:

This letter is in response to your inquiry concerning your eligibility to possess or receive firearms. The certified court documentation and/or other pertinent materials submitted have been reviewed. Based on further review and investigation, we have been able to determine you are eligible to posses or receive a firearm. The FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division’s NICS Section Firearm Appeal Certificates are enclosed.

Regular AmmoLand Shooting Sports News readers of this column are familiar with attorney Stephen Stamboulieh. He is currently challenging New Jersey carry permit denials and working with the Heller Foundation on appeals in two machine gun cases. Last week it was reported he is representing this correspondent and Kent Terry, brother of slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, in a Freedom of Information Act request to determine what State Department communications documents may exist relative to Operation Fast and Furious “gunwalking.”

“While we are certainly pleased with the result, the length of time for appeals is yet another roadblock set up to deny people their fundamental right to keep and bear arms, and it should not have taken an attorney to prove that he was not a prohibited person,” Stamboulieh noted in his announcement.

“The interesting part of this: he appealed a denial in 2010 which apparently was only just handled now after we filed suit. 2010! We have one other case pending in DC right now with a number of cases yet to be filed. Stay tuned for further updates.”

That brings up vital points involving due process and equal treatment under the law. A citizen without the persistence, wherewithal and good fortune of contacting an attorney that is both interested and capable would still be denied his fundamental right to keep and bear arms by the very government that has as one of its primary mandates “to secure the Blessings of Liberty.”

A government that, rather than working to fulfill that requirement has to be dragged kicking and screaming — and to only grudgingly give in when it has no other legal choice — is actively undermining its entire justification for existence.

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