How Did The Texas Shooter Pass A Background Check After A Domestic Violence Conviction?

Townhall ^ | November 6, 2017 | Matt Vespa

[Zakeet]

... given that Kelley was given a "bad-conduct discharge" from the U.S. Air Force in 2014, which is not the same as a dishonorable discharge, contrary to previous reports, and spent a year in jail after beating his wife and child in 2012--how did he obtain firearms? Yes, a dishonorable discharge would also make him a prohibited person, but either way, Kelley is a banned person; he a convicted domestic abuser.

Somehow Kelley was able to pass a background check and obtain a rifle at Academy Sports & Outdoors in April of 2016? Yet, I’m sure the search for answers on that front will be buried or lost by the incoming bout of explosive gun control diarrhea from the Left. If they want to push for more background checks, they should know that domestic violence convictions bar you from owning firearms. That provision has been on the books for quite some time. And there is no debate (or at least there shouldn't be) when you're convicted of beating your wife, girlfriend, or and in this case--your spouse and kids--you deserve to have your gun rights stripped.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

That appears to be exactly what happened here.

Passing laws without enforcement.

A simple followup would have solved this problem.

[eyeamok]

Scumbag lawyers and lawyers in black dresses with cute little hammers decide how these laws are interpreted, not me. I am merely informing how our screwed up system actually works in practice, I agree they should have caught the Court Martial, but without the Actual Charged and Convicted offenses being known, there is no way to tell.

If it truly was a “Domestic Violence” conviction, they would have produced the record by now, leaving me to believe that he plead down to “simple assault”. In which case he still had is right to possess a firearm.

[eyeamok]

You need to look at the actual Penal Code he was convicted of, I will bet it is simple assault with no mention of domestic violence. It happens all the time. It matters not why he was arrested or the circumstances surrounding his trial and conviction, all that matters it WHAT PENAL CODE did the Judge List as being convicted of.

[knighthawk]

On the Dutch radio they are reporting the guy did not have a permit to own fire-arms.

[Mr Rogers]

I read a court case once that revolved around the word “birthday”. Why? Because at age X, the penalty increased, and the lawyer argued (unsuccessfully) that the defendant was a few hours short of reaching that age. But the law said “birthday”, and the defendant had reached their birthday....

[Trinity5]

You don’t need a permit to own a firearm in TX. I’m sure they were referring to the concealed carry permit he was denied as discussed prior.

Most Europeans don’t understand who firearm ownership works in America. I’m in Germany right now and they don’t understand it either.

[DJ MacWoW]

Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told USA Today that Kelley “served in Logistics Readiness at Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico from 2010 until his discharge.” She told Military.com that “Kelley was court-martialed in 2012 for two counts of Article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: assault on his spouse and assault on their child… He received a bad conduct discharge, confinement for twelve months and a reduction to the grade of E-1.”

According to American Military News, “Under U.S. Code, dishonorably discharged military personnel are not allowed to legally purchase a firearm and this is documented on the ATF’s website. However the conditions of the dishonorable discharge have yet to be released.” According to The Los Angeles Times, “Federal law prohibits a person who has been dishonorably discharged from buying a firearm. Whether Kelley’s discharge would trigger the law was not immediately clear.”

However, Texas’ governor said on Monday to CNN that Kelley was denied a gun permit by the state. “So how was it that he was able to get a gun? By all the facts that we seem to know, he was not supposed to have access to a gun,” the governor asked.

Devin Kelley: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

[sipow]

I thought he got a BCD (bad conductor discharge), not a DD. Which would make a world of difference regarding gun ownership.

At least that is what I am hearing about him. But you know how these stories keep changing.

[Rusty0604]

I’m not being dense. I get what you all are saying, I’m just questioning your motives for focusing on it. I’m well aware of how the law works.

[Rusty0604]

I know, and I wasn’t trying to start an argument. I guess just reading your post you sounded like one of those scumbag defense lawyers. It’s happened to me here too, a post of mine taken wrong and all he!! Breaks loose. :-)

[Rusty0604]

I detest lawyers like that. Everyone deserves a good defense lawyer, but we need a little common sense in our justice system.

[Mastador1]

Yuck. Who knows where that finger’s been.

Who knows where the fingers been? The Reggie knows!

[caligatrux]

At least that is what I am hearing about him. But you know how these stories keep changing.

Part of the problem is that the "journalists" reporting on the story are too stupid to understand that there is a difference between a BCD and a DD, and that it is an important distinction.

Same seems to be true for whether he was convicted of assault or of domestic violence.