Dear Turkey shooter,
Another poster referred you to Alabama Statute 13A-11-70 which provides the defintion of a crime of violence. As with many of Alabama firearms laws, the definition of a crime of violence is poorly crafted.
In section 2, the statute reads
"(2) CRIME OF VIOLENCE. Any of the following crimes or an attempt to commit any of them, namely, murder, manslaughter, (except manslaughter arising out of the operation of a vehicle), rape, mayhem, assault with intent to rob, assault with intent to ravish, assault with intent to murder, robbery, burglary, kidnapping and larceny.
In reading the statute, the obvious error in the language is clearly observed in that with the exception of burgulary and larceny, all of the listed offenses require violence or the use of the threat of violence or use of force as an intregal part of the offense. After the use of the term "Mayhem", the statute should have read "uses or threatened the use of violence during the commission of _________________ ( insert your favoite offense). Logically all of these offenses, with the exception of a simple larceny involve the high risk of violence, yet you were not charged with even a felony, but a misdemeanor not involving violence or a threat of violence.
Your primary recourse is to hire an attorney and petition the court for a restoration of your full civil rights, or to obtain a pardon. The least complicated ( though time consuming) of these is to file a petition for the restoration of your rights.
You will need a lawyer to draw up the motion, and it would not hurt to have the local sheriff perfrom a background check to document that you have no other convicitions in Alabama or any other state. You can also get the sheriff to take your fingerprints and then you can submit them to the FBI under the Privacy Act to obtain a copy of your NCIC Criminal History, to confirm that you have no outstanding warrants, are not wanted, nor on probation or parole, and have no criminal history other than the petty larceny from 10 years ago.
Provided that you can show the court that the offense was such a minor offense, and that you have not had any other criminal issues, it is highly likely that the court will grant the motion. Once you get past that hurdle, you should apply with the Instant Check system for a permanate file, and identification number. You will have to jump through some of the same hurdles like the FBI check and finger prints, but they will file your approved petition restoring your civil rights, and give you a ID number to use each time you wish to buy a gun. This will prevent you from having to jump through hoops each time you purchase a gun and get denied.
Here is the link to the Instant check info page on getting the ID number and permanate record filing.
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/appeals/nics-appeals-process/appeals-home
As for a pardon, the pardon does not restore all rights and can have exceptions:
• Eligibility: Completion of sentence, or completion of at least three years of
permanent parole, unless the pardon is sought on grounds of innocence.
Ala. Code § 15-22-36(c). Persons convicted of a felony or certain other
offenses involving danger to the person must submit to the taking of a DNA
sample as a mandatory condition of the pardon. Ala. Code § 36-18-25(f).
Board accepts applications from federal offenders and people convicted in
other state jurisdictions residing in the state. See Article 8 of Ala. Board
Rules, Regulations and Procedures, at
http://www.paroles.state.al.us/ALABPP/ALABPP MAIN.htm.
• Effect: A state pardon does not relieve civil and political disabilities “unless
specifically expressed in the pardon.” Ala. Code § 15-22-36(c). See also
Ala. Code 17-3-10. A person who has forfeited his office as a result of
felony conviction is not restored to that office by a pardon. Ala. Code § 36-
9-2. See also Hendrix v. Hunt, 607 So. 2d 1254 (Ala. 1992).
Pardon that
restores civil rights also restores handgun privileges. See State ex rel.
Sokira v. Burr, 580 So. 2d 1340 (Ala. 1991). The Board may grant a full
pardon, which restores all rights, or it may grant a pardon with restrictions
(e.g., firearms privileges, sex offender registration, habitual offender status).
Full pardons without restrictions are rarely granted.
I wish you luck, and while it may take some time and effort to accomplish the restoration of your civil rights, it is your only legal recourse absent a change in the Alabama statue defining a crime of violence.