I’m taking a bit of a victory lap here.
TL;DR: I bought a gun in July online but failed the background check due to a 2012 hospital stay. Despite everyone telling me to get a lawyer, I researched on my own, found the right form (JDF-35), and submitted it without legal help. After a few weeks, my application was approved, and my gun rights were restored. I’ll be picking up my gun in three days.
Back in early July, I bought a gun online that seemed like a pretty good deal. I had it shipped to a shooting range near my house for the FFL transfer. When I went to pick it up, I did the background check—and failed. I hadn’t bought a gun in over 20 years, so I hadn’t tested whether I could still purchase one. Back in 2012, I had a crisis due to some extraordinary circumstances, and it turns out I wasn’t as voluntarily in the hospital as I thought I was I never tried to leave early.
I appealed the background check but promptly failed that as well, though I did receive a case number. Seeing “mental defective” on the CBI background check was hard to swallow. I think it’s unfair that needing help at the lowest point in your life can preclude you from ever owning a gun. I spent the next few days considering illegal ways to get my gun or even manufacturing one with my lathe and mill. But those were all very bad ideas, and I don’t recommend going that route. Mostly, I just didn’t want to lose the money I had already paid for the gun. What I really wanted was to own it legally, so I started researching.
I turned to Google and ChatGPT, and even made a few Reddit posts, trying to figure out how I could get my gun rights restored. I couldn’t find any information on how this is done in Colorado—Pennsylvania and Oregon, on the other hand, are well-documented. Everyone on Reddit told me to get a lawyer and that I couldn’t do it on my own. I didn’t know if I needed to get my court record sealed or expunged, or even which district to file in. But someone on /r/askalawyer pointed me to the correct statute, C.R.S 13-9-124, which says you can petition the court to have your firearms prohibition removed.
As I dug deeper, I started figuring out the legal language I needed. With the help of ChatGPT, I began learning how to write a semi-coherent petition and how the process works through the court. I figured I could try without a lawyer first, and if I failed, I could try again with one. I’m a very DIY type person. I gave myself six months before expecting any results. After about two weeks of research in my free time, I was starting to piece it all together.
I geared up for the petition, writing letters for my friends to sign attesting to my character, pulling my criminal history(none) and medical records. While poking around on the state court website, I found the magic form: JDF-35, Application for Administrative Relief from Federal Firearms Prohibitions Imposed Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §922 (d)(4) and (g)(4). The form had a list of criteria that needed to be met, like having no more than one re-commitment and ensuring three years had passed since the prohibition was added to the NICS database. It also had rules about whether it was a long or short commitment. The form even referenced another statute indicating that my court case had already been sealed automatically—cool.
With this information, I completed the form and mailed it to the Colorado Office of State Court Administrator, figuring that if it wasn’t right, I’d get some feedback on how to proceed. I also sent some emails to the OSCA to get a time estimate and heard back that it would take 3-4 weeks—much less than the six months I had expected. While waiting, I tried fishing for free legal advice by contacting about ten 2A lawyers. One said my case wasn’t a match for them, and another confirmed that I did have the correct form, though he never called me back when I tried to follow up. The rest didn’t respond.
I’m pleased to share that my application for administrative relief from federal firearms prohibitions has been approved. The approval means that my gun rights have been officially restored, allowing me to legally own and possess firearms once again. This decision is a significant step forward, reflecting the positive outcome of the process I initiated to reclaim my rights.
In conclusion, I’m excited to announce that I will be picking up my gun in three days, marking the culmination of this journey. I’m looking forward to enjoying my restored gun rights.