Is There A Second Chance?

[Pwnd2Pwnr]

If, hypothetically speaking, you were at a party when you were a teenager and you are completely trashed. You then get this really, really, really dumb idea and you steal firearms from a gun locker that wasn't locked. Then, another "friend" gets caught and says that you stole all of the guns (even though he was the first one in) and you had a search warrant brought to your house and they find the guns. You go to court, plea to possession of firearms, and you go through 5 years of drug testing. You do so well, in fact, you paid all of the 13,000 $ in restitution and you get off probation early. Time passes, say, 10 years. You have had "jobs" that were either temporary or contracted specifically for certain duties. You are great with computers and could build, fix and diagnose a PC better than any Geek Squad employee could. Hell, you know more about computers than pretty much anything else. But, every time you apply for a job that you would excel at, you get turned down because of one nights bad decision.

Where would you turn when McDonalds tells you that you are overqualified and a local Office Max/Best Buy tells you they won't hire you because of the blemish on your record. What the hell do you do then?

I am putting myself out there a bit, so some constructive criticism would be nice. I was supposed to take a drug test today for a Help Desk job and when I get there... they said my background check came back and that I would not be able to be employed there. Fuck, how much more of a loser could I be to be turned down by McDonalds. My girlfriend busts her ass at work and I am stuck at home, taking things apart, flashing tablets, perusing networks, etc, and I guess I can't flip take orders from a window, clean bathrooms, flip burgers, and drop starch packed fries into a fryer...

Sorry everybody, but I am just to my wits end...

[Mr-Protocol]

I will say that the firearm owner is irresponsible for not having them locked up. Also the people taking them irresponsible. That being said, there really isn't much you can do if a situation like that happens besides keep trying or make your own company.

[digip]

Seek legal council, see if there is a statute to have the items expunged from your records, but not sure gun laws allow that, since I imagine, you also aren't allowed to own a firearm because of the arrest or get a hunting license for the same reasons, gun crimes usually stick with you forever. Only other solution I can think of, is if you went into the military, and maybe they would be willing to overlook your record, but is that the ONLY thing thats on your record? Are there other things that show up, other crimes you've been arrested for, that could change someones mind when doing a background check. Gun crimes are no joke, so my suggestion is seek legal council on what your options are and if there are any statue of limitations where after a number of years, that comes off, or if there is some sort of reform class you can take and fine to pay to have it removed.

I'm not a lawyer, but I know some things stay on your permanent record forever, like sex offender crimes, and if you didn't put on the application about the arrest up front, they may have seen it as hiding something. You should always speak with the person hiring, and tell them up front, "Hey, by the way, when I was a teenager I did some stupid things I am not proud of, because of having the wrong friends and peer pressure, and such, and was arrested for stealing guns, but I want you to know that up front, that I am not that same person, and have paid my time for the crime and only want the chance to prove myself..." something along those lines.

[murder_face]

In California, it's expensive but believe after 7 years you can have your felonies expunged. The last time that I looked into it, it was $1200/per and it's nothing that a DOJ printout won't find.

I remeber reading WAY back when that there is a way to apply for a new Social Security Number. I'm not sure about the validity of it, but I imagine that a legal name change/ssn change might help. Also nothing that a DOJ inquiry wouldn't find. I imagine that the name/ssn change would show up on a TRW(or whatever they're called now) I remember when I was young and stupid looking at people's credit reports and one report would have multiple SSN's and names, but same DOB on them.

[Pwnd2Pwnr]

I was interviewed by ATF agents. The only item I had was an antique double barrel insured for 25,000 $ dollars. Apparently, a rare collectors piece. I was a dumb teenager, and it is true that a little knowledge is a very dangerous thing. I have not committed an adult crime (one juvenile offense, also non violent), and the said theft happened when I was 17; enough to convict as an adult. I have not, and I cannot say this enough, I do NOT have anything else on my record. I do not underplay the fact that they were "guns".... a firearm is designed to kill.. that is vanilla. But what is too much when I give back to my community. I volunteer through local venues. I even cleaned the shit at the humane society on several occasions.

As for the upfront policy, you would be amazed on how quickly a great interview goes sour when explaining my past conviction. I could actually see the look of "...too bad" before they spew their hiring policy.

As for the Military. This was my initial answer. I though, the military would take me because I can actually prove myself. The recruiters told me that my criminal record would not be accepted. Their explanation was that the shift from a Republican president to a Democratic president changed policies.

I have the same chances of committing a felony as a person who does not have a felony because I have no offenses post rehabilitation.

Just got off the phone with the local recruiters, and if you paid more than 2,000 $ in restitution, you cannot join the military (all branches).

Edited October 1, 2012 by Pwnd2Pwnr