Army Vet Denied Right To Own Gun Due To 42-Year-Old Misdemeanor Drug Charge

TOMBALL, Tex. (CBS Houston) – Ron Kelly is a retired Army veteran. He used to fire tanks, cannons, and machine guns while fighting for the United States.

However, when he applied to the FBI for the right to purchase a .22-caliber rifle from Wal-Mart, the FBI denied him, citing a minor drug possession conviction back in 1971.

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/07...n-due-to-42-year-old-misdemeanor-drug-charge/

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"Right to purchase a gun?" Who hires these "news" people.

What has always bugged me, and makes me curious. Would this story (1) have even been reported if it wasn't an Army Vet? (2) What makes it more of an issue because he is a Vet?

In my eyes, it shouldn't matter that he is a Vet. It is a constitutional right all citizens have. It should be just as big of a deal if he was just a guy that was denied the purchase.

Before anybody gets upset and tries to say, 'You have never served, you don't get it', I am currently Active Duty. If there is anything that really bugs me is people that believe there military service puts them in a higher level of society.

Being a veteran gives the story a touch of irony. The guy used to shoot some of the biggest guns available but can't buy a .22? It tells me we have stupid laws that aren't very well researched or implemented.

Griz said:

Being a veteran gives the story a touch of irony. The guy used to shoot some of the biggest guns available but can't buy a .22? It tells me we have stupid laws that aren't very well researched or implemented.

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It also tells me something's fishy.

As far as I know, misdemeanor drug possession isn't yet a justification for government to refuse to recognize 2A rights. There's more to the story, or the FBI records are wrong or something.

Assuming there isn't more to the story, this guy is among the statistics that will be cited by Brady and MAIG to prove that background checks lead to some denials and therefore work!

Griz said:

Being a veteran gives the story a touch of irony. The guy used to shoot some of the biggest guns available but can't buy a .22? It tells me we have stupid laws that aren't very well researched or implemented.

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Or that the Army will take anyone

Being a vet means nothing in respect to civilian gun rights....

As a vet, I cringe when people bring it up --- why make it a point that can lead to disgracing your branch of the service?

But I guess in the case of the Army, how can you ?

Prison or Army son? (Judge talking)


I just looked at some Army recruitment stuff ... has MOS of "medic", "medical assist.", "computer programmer", etc not an even mention of infantryman even to be seen lol

Way back in the day, there was no maximum sentence for possession of marijuana in Texas. There's a chance this is being treated as a felony conviction because of that, just like a DUI in Massachusetts is now.