Long story short, I was involuntarily committed to a mental health facility by a magistrate and then released the following day! This was NOT stemming from any criminal charge and the doctor said I suffered from depression and proscribed generic anti depressant. I have begun seeing a therapist on my own and feel much better than I had before. I have a good job, prior military service, college degree, and NO criminal history. I am not a danger to myself or others. However, I have gone through my paperwork and see that due to the commitment, I am possess, or transport firearms. This is frustrating as I am an avid shooter and it sucks that I cannot go to the range with the guys from work anymore or have a firearm in my home where my wife is frequently alone (we don't live in the best neighborhood). Every attorney I reach out to seems like they only deal with restoring gun rights for those convicted of a crime rather than issues stemming from a mental breakdown and a simple episode of depression that spun out of control. Does anyone have any experience with this? What avenues do I have for recourse? I'd like to have my 2nd Amendment Rights back! I'm not a criminal! Thank you in advance.

http://www.courts.state.va.us/forms/district/dc4040.pdf

You'll need to submit a notarized letter from a mental health professional attesting to the fact that you are not a danger to yourself or others.

Good luck!

I have that form that was given to my by the case worker at the facility but am unclear as to what the standard practice is regarding a sufficient waiting period, whether or not I need an attorney and a hearing, and what supporting documentation I will need to attach with the petition form. I feel like I should be able to have my psychiatrist sign a letter stating that I am all good, but I have a feeling that the process is more involved than that. I understand that no one besides an attorney may give me legal advice, but I am having a hard time figuring out what the standard practice is and how to materialize the best case scenario for myself. If anyone has any additional input or experience with this I would GREATLY appreciate it. Called another law office and was quoted $2500 for the services :/

Here's some free advice...advice taken by thousands of others in your situation.

Lie on the form.

Mental health shit is largely protected and doesn't show up most places or on firearm background checks.

Just tell them you are fine and you've never had any mental health issues.

There are hundreds of thousands of people living in Fairfax illegally who don't give a shit about our laws, why should you - someone who pays taxes to support them - give a fuck about the law?

Well Shit Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here's some free advice...advice taken by
> thousands of others in your situation.
>
> Lie on the form.
>
> Mental health shit is largely protected and
> doesn't show up most places or on firearm
> background checks.
>
> Just tell them you are fine and you've never had
> any mental health issues.
>
> There are hundreds of thousands of people living
> in Fairfax illegally who don't give a shit about
> our laws, why should you - someone who pays taxes
> to support them - give a fuck about the law?


If he lies on the form, they will catch it when they do a NICS check. Involuntary mental health commitments are required by law to uploaded into NICS. Virginia used to be pretty bad at uploading the information (see Cho) but has routinely done it since 2007.

Lying on a 4473 is a federal crime.

Well Shit Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There are hundreds of thousands of people living
> in Fairfax illegally who don't give a shit about
> our laws, why should you - someone who pays taxes
> to support them - give a fuck about the law?

Bullshit, there are only 185,000 Hispanics in the county.
Even if a generous half were 'illegal', it doesn't make it to a hundred thousand much less 'hundreds'.

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/demogrph/demrpts/report/fullrpt.pdf

You can't count Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Bullshit, there are only 185,000 Hispanics in the
> county.
> Even if a generous half were 'illegal', it doesn't
> make it to a hundred thousand much less
> 'hundreds'.

That poster didn't say Hispanics, you did. My first take was lots of people own and carry firearms without regard to lawful carry and I'm guessing that is true.

I think what you linked is base don US census data, I don't know how accurate a picture that is of illegals living among the rest of the population. Even if you can count, that report isn't counting everything.

-Here ya go- gave you the answer. Take the filled out form with notarized statement to the Clerk of the Court and file it. They will tell you what you need to do. You might have to have three copies and pay a small fee like the CCW permit. Everytime I have had to deal with one of the clerics, they have been friendly and helpful. Be nice and they will help you too...
Let us know how it goes. :)

just buy a ghost gun on the internet.

I see a problem here:

"However, I have gone through my paperwork and see that due to the commitment, I am possess, or transport firearms."

What you need, sunshine, is an editor. I wish you well in your journey to possess firearms. Perhaps the Curios and Relics path is the right way for you, or as a great convicted felon once did you could have Mrs. Liddy own the firearms. You think Dick Marcinko in Snakes'n'Lakes, VA or Jaquandarie Twopants in Anacostia doesn't shoot?

I understand that there are plenty of ways for me to acquire a firearm in VA without going to a gun shop and buying one. Thanks. However, I truly don't want to circumvent the order of the court and break ANY laws. I want to simply restore my rights. At the present moment, I have my guns at my parents house where they will stay until I am finished with this process and have something in my hand that says I am good to go. Currently, I am pretty sure that my CCW permit has been voided although I have not looked into it, and that if I should be in possession of a firearm I would be charged and rightly convicted of a Class 1 Misdemeanor. Again, I cannot stress enough that I am not a criminal and do not wish to engage in any behavior that would break the law. I just want my rights restored and continue on with normal life, going to work and hanging with the guys at the range on occasion. Any further assistance would be appreciated. For those that are telling me to lie etc, I appreciate it but want to do this legit. For the ones that feel the need to correct grammar.. you're really cool...

Specifically, I am interested in what the standard waiting time is, what documentation I will need to attach to the form, and whether or not I need to request a hearing and hire an attorney or simply file the form myself. I went to the clerk and they were not entirely helpful. Cheers!

frustrated Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I understand that there are plenty of ways for me
> to acquire a firearm in VA without going to a gun
> shop and buying one. Thanks. However, I truly
> don't want to circumvent the order of the court
> and break ANY laws. I want to simply restore my
> rights. At the present moment, I have my guns at
> my parents house where they will stay until I am
> finished with this process and have something in
> my hand that says I am good to go. Currently, I am
> pretty sure that my CCW permit has been voided
> although I have not looked into it, and that if I
> should be in possession of a firearm I would be
> charged and rightly convicted of a Class 1
> Misdemeanor. Again, I cannot stress enough that I
> am not a criminal and do not wish to engage in any
> behavior that would break the law. I just want my
> rights restored and continue on with normal life,
> going to work and hanging with the guys at the
> range on occasion. Any further assistance would be
> appreciated. For those that are telling me to lie
> etc, I appreciate it but want to do this legit.
> For the ones that feel the need to correct
> grammar.. you're really cool...
>
> Specifically, I am interested in what the standard
> waiting time is, what documentation I will need to
> attach to the form, and whether or not I need to
> request a hearing and hire an attorney or simply
> file the form myself. I went to the clerk and they
> were not entirely helpful. Cheers!


Dude, you've been told. Get a notarized letter from your mental health provider that indicates you are not a danger to yourself or others. Attach it to the form linked above and file it with the court.

Hey, fuckhead.

Your rights aren't "restored". They're YOUR rights.

Stop being a bitch and caring about what the government says.

"Every attorney I reach out to seems like they only deal with restoring gun rights for those convicted of a crime rather than issues stemming from a mental breakdown and a simple episode of depression that spun out of control."

What makes you think those attorneys who have experience helping convicted criminals get their gun rights restored can't help you? They are dealing with the same code sections and they are dealing with the same bureaucracy and judges. I assume you already have a mental health professional lined up who could, if necessary, testify to the circumstances of your commitment and your current mental state, so you are not relying on your attorney's experience to supply the expert.

Until you are cleared, just give the firearms to your wife. The law in no way dispossesses her right to possess firearms. And, she can store her firearms on your side of the bed, if she wants.

There is no standard waiting time that I know of. If you feel you are good to go and your doctor feels you are not a danger to yourself or others, get your doctor to put it in a notarized letter and file it with the form. I would not request a hearing. If the judge wants to hear more, he or she will let you know.
You don't know until you try. If you fail to do anything, then you have already failed.

Why were you involuntarily committed? I have been around some people who have been caught doing some crazy-ass shit, and they weren't committed.

Why do I have a sneaky feeling that you may seem relatively normal on here (poor grammar and sentenced structure notwithstanding), but if I met you in person I would think you are a fucking kook?

Got into an argument with my significant other who has been driving me nuts with her pathological lying and drug use. Lost my cool and said something to the extent of "If you're looking to drive me into the grave I'll just go ahead and do it myself then" and pointed to the nightstand where I keep my daily carry firearm at home. She was drunk and has absolutely no sense of right and wrong, so she called the police and said I was going to kill myself. For liability reasons, I had to "voluntarily" go to the hospital where I was so embarrassed that a domestic issue had gotten to this point that I denied the whole thing. CSB did not believe me and decided that I needed further evaluation. I was told that I could go voluntarily but should I try to leave, I would be brought back by the police. Upon arriving at the mental health facility, I was put in a precarious situation where I adamantly denied being suicidal (which is true!). Doctors wanted to see how I would react to Zoloft and therefore recommended to the magistrate that I should be kept. Like I said, after literally a day, I was cleared by the doctor. Now I have to deal with all this crap and start a new life without my psycho drug addict girlfriend. Cheers to me.

frustrated Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Got into an argument with my significant other who
> has been driving me nuts with her pathological
> lying and drug use. Lost my cool and said
> something to the extent of "If you're looking to
> drive me into the grave I'll just go ahead and do
> it myself then" and pointed to the nightstand
> where I keep my daily carry firearm at home. She
> was drunk and has absolutely no sense of right and
> wrong, so she called the police and said I was
> going to kill myself. For liability reasons, I had
> to "voluntarily" go to the hospital where I was so
> embarrassed that a domestic issue had gotten to
> this point that I denied the whole thing. CSB did
> not believe me and decided that I needed further
> evaluation. I was told that I could go voluntarily
> but should I try to leave, I would be brought back
> by the police. Upon arriving at the mental health
> facility, I was put in a precarious situation
> where I adamantly denied being suicidal (which is
> true!). Doctors wanted to see how I would react to
> Zoloft and therefore recommended to the magistrate
> that I should be kept. Like I said, after
> literally a day, I was cleared by the doctor. Now
> I have to deal with all this crap and start a new
> life without my psycho drug addict girlfriend.
> Cheers to me.


Your ex-whatever suffering from addictions?

WTF did you keep a firearm(loaded?)in a unlocked drawer where she had access?

+1 on the above post regarding access to your partner. That's just stupid.

I'll be honest, I would have a hard time granting back someones right to own for a pretty significant period of time following any type of psychological evaluation that determined they needed counselling or medication. Sorry. The last thing I want is you walking around with a gun.

Plus, I don't believe they put you on Zoloft just to see how you would act.

"Got into an argument with my significant other who has been driving me nuts with her pathological lying and drug use. Lost my cool and said something to the extent of "If you're looking to drive me into the grave I'll just go ahead and do it myself then" and pointed to the nightstand where I keep my daily carry firearm at home. She was drunk and has absolutely no sense of right and wrong, so she called the police and said I was going to kill myself. For liability reasons, I had to "voluntarily" go to the hospital where I was so embarrassed that a domestic issue had gotten to this point that I denied the whole thing. CSB did not believe me and decided that I needed further evaluation. I was told that I could go voluntarily but should I try to leave, I would be brought back by the police. Upon arriving at the mental health facility, I was put in a precarious situation where I adamantly denied being suicidal (which is true!). Doctors wanted to see how I would react to Zoloft and therefore recommended to the magistrate that I should be kept. Like I said, after literally a day, I was cleared by the doctor. Now I have to deal with all this crap and start a new life without my psycho drug addict girlfriend. Cheers to me."

Wow. That's the kind of story a crazy person would tell. As a fellow gun owner who's never had to "voluntarily" do anything, it sounds like you have issues. What is this "liability reasons" bullshit?

Here's a tip: when they ask you if you hear voices, say "Yes! Just now I heard one. Aren't you hearing a voice right now?" For the slower students, it's a trick question because you can't answer it unless you hear voices.

Thanks Obama!

You were committed to a mental health facility. I don't care why or for how long. There is not way a fucking psycho like you should ever be allowed near firearms. We have laws like this in place for a reason. To keep firearms out of the hands of goddamn lunatics like you.

The Op is clearly not "psycho" or angry like you. He just sounds like he is depressed.

Mike O'Meara Show Fan Wrote:
> the Curios and Relics path is the right way for
> you, or as a great convicted felon once did you
> could have Mrs. Liddy own the firearms. You think
> Dick Marcinko in Snakes'n'Lakes, VA or Jaquandarie
> Twopants in Anacostia doesn't shoot?

Exactly what I was thinking, I remember G Gordon saying that.

no guns for you Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You were committed to a mental health facility. I
> don't care why or for how long. There is not way a
> fucking psycho like you should ever be allowed
> near firearms. We have laws like this in place for
> a reason. To keep firearms out of the hands of
> goddamn lunatics like you.

Post by small dicked liberal beta male...

There is that big building in FFX that says NRA...you should contact them.

no guns for you Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You were committed to a mental health facility. I
> don't care why or for how long. There is not way a
> fucking psycho like you should ever be allowed
> near firearms. We have laws like this in place for
> a reason. To keep firearms out of the hands of
> goddamn lunatics like you.


+1

Let's take away his right to vote as well.

OP No you don't need a gun ever. what would you do if you had a gun? Shoot up a mall or a school? We can't take a chance that your crazy as fuck ass might use a gun to hurt innocent people (even if the voices in your head tell you they deserve it ) Forget about voting too

guy sounds like he has a legitimate question, anyone who has any experience with mental health would tell you that he is clearly depressed but is not suffering from a problem that is uncommon in MANY of our homes.