Military Waivers

[Stout]

I would like to join the Marines. I have wanted to all my live. It is a dream of mine. I have a problem though, I went to talk to a recruiter and took the ASVAB and passed that. Was getting ready to set up the physical fitness test, but the gunny told me to come talk to him. he was looking through my records and found two words the disqualifies me to join any of the military branches. The words Domestic Violence. But the problem I am having is I wasnt charged with domestic violence, I was charged with assault. If you look at my record, in the dockets part all it says about DV is I was told to do a 24 week DV intervention class, and thats it. I have tried to get the words changed a few times now but they keep saying no. My probation just ended as of august 24, 09, and haven't got into trouble for over three years. Does anyone have any idea on if it is even possible for me to join? Like i said it is my dream and Id do pretty much anything to make it happen... THANKS

 

[AZ_Infantry]

I thought I did a reply to this... must have been the one I closed prematurely. I'm sorry about that - I meant to answer it yesterday.

Unfortunately, you most likely WERE charged with DV. The way the laws are worded incorporates the DV clause to almost any criminal action if you share a residence. And it specifically says just that: share a residence. You can be charged and convicted of DV for any altercation, physical or not, with your parents, girlfriend, roommate, or house guest. It doesn't require you to be married or even seeing anyone. And, the last I heard, they were attempting to stipulate that even a phone call of a threatening nature to someone you USED to live with can be an arrestable offense with a DV trailer, though I have yet to find evidence that that particular silliness has passed.

For myself, I was arrested, charged and convicted of "Fighting." However, it is still DV because I lived with a woman at the time. No physical anything - the police said that they could hear me yelling outside my front door (they could), so it was disturbing the peace. But because I was fighting with a live-in partner, it was a DV charge with "Fighting" the actual, listed offense.

Silly, isn't it? Thank your local liberal for this ugliness where every man is a complete criminal for existing.

But here's the issue: the Lautenberg Act is automatically applied to any DV charge under federal law. That act refuses your right to be employed by anyone requiring you to carry a firearm, as you have now and forever lost almost all of your 2A rights. Yup: you can no longer buy a gun on a 4473. You can still own one, but only if you live in a state where face-to-face sales are permitted, and only if you don't have a dated bill of sale, and then only if the judge did not demand you turn in all your firearms when he or she convicted you (it will be a box with a checkmark in it that tells you to surrender your firearms within X number of days). If any of those things are not exactly right, every "I" dotted and "T" crossed, you're going to be arrested for a felony firearm violation if you're ever caught with a private weapon.

It sucks, bro, and I know it sucks. I'm not going to judge you for your arrest, though most will. But people have been sold that you are now a danger to society, and the Marines -- any military branch, police department, security agency -- cannot employ you under federal law. There is no waiver for it, and Sarah Brady and Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer arre the ones you have to thank for being an evil POS that isn't worthy of serving your country.

Welcome to America, home of the brave and land of the liberal enslaved for the sake of all that is holy.

I am so sorry, bro. You're not going to get in - ever. Time to think about another line of work.

But no REAL veteran will ever judge you for this. We know the rules, but we know just how stupid some of them are. And this one is the turd on top of the turd adorning the soup sandwich.

 

[Stout]

I understand what you are saying but I wasn't charged with a felony, it was a misdemeanor. There was nothing that said I can't carry a gun or be employed by anyone that requires me to carry one. word for word it states; Assault- Use Reckless Force Or Violence- Degree of offense misdemeanor... Im just trying to find that a way in.

 

[AZ_Infantry]

I understand what you are saying but I wasn't charged with a felony, it was a misdemeanor. There was nothing that said I can't carry a gun or be employed by anyone that requires me to carry one. word for word it states; Assault- Use Reckless Force Or Violence- Degree of offense misdemeanor... Im just trying to find that a way in.

I didn't suggest that you were charged with a felony. The felony occurs when and if you're found in violation of the Lautenberg Act.

What the paperwork states is not the conviction. That nature of the offense is Assault. But you were arrested for, charged with and convicted of Assault / Domestic Violence (just as I was). You were also most likely charged with a myriad of other, more minor offenses that are not listed: Disturbing the Peace, Drunk in Public, and Fightng are often lesser charges they convict you of, just as when you get get a DUI you are also being convicted of Failure to Properly Maintain a One Way Direction of Travel.

No one here, including me, knows exactly what you were convicted of. The above thoughts are simple examples of real situations in which 5 or 6 different offenses are wrapped up into one arrest, charge and conviction. That is the waythe laws work, and the Prosecuting Attorney almost always agrees to drop the lesser charges for a plea to the more serious ones.

However, that is not possible with DV, a mandatory prosecutorial charge. If you shared a residence and you were convicted of anything at all about your behavior in that residence, then you were arrested for DV. You were prosecuted for it. And you were found guilty of it.

There isn't going to be anything written on the paperwork about it, as it is simply the nature of the offense - assault.

Your best bet is to approach a recruiter and be 100% honest about your situation. If they deny you for a DV conviction, then what I am telling you is 100% accurate and you fall under the Lautenberg Act. It sounds as if you have and that is exactly what they told you in fewer words.

DV isn't the actual arrest, as it isn't the issue - DV is too ambiguous to prosecute. But assault in a domestic situation is a specific charge. So is fighting in a domestic situation, or threatening. But all of those, three different arrests and three different charges and convictions, are DV arrests and convictions. All get you listed under Lautenberg.

In the very, very concise meaning, your paperwork and theirs is different. When the recruiter pulls up your arrest record, they see BOTH assault and DV. You only see the assault part of it.

But that is why you were told to attend DV classes and why the recruiter cannot and will not touch you.

 

[Stout]

So I went to the court and the police department and asked them about what I can do and then talked to my recruiter and found out it isn't the court record that is the issue because it only says assault misdemeanor. You are correct on the part where they classified it as a DV. But my recruiter made a call and found out if there was a way to get the police record changed to a lesser charge or reworded to anything other then DV, I can get a waiver for the charge. But I don't know if it is possible to get it changed and if it is I don't know how or where to start. I was thinking of getting a lawyer and see where that can land me...

 

[AZ_Infantry]

So I went to the court and the police department and asked them about what I can do and then talked to my recruiter and found out it isn't the court record that is the issue because it only says assault misdemeanor. You are correct on the part where they classified it as a DV. But my recruiter made a call and found out if there was a way to get the police record changed to a lesser charge or reworded to anything other then DV, I can get a waiver for the charge. But I don't know if it is possible to get it changed and if it is I don't know how or where to start. I was thinking of getting a lawyer and see where that can land me...

First of all, that is fantastic news! I had no idea you (generic) could do that, and I am damn sure glad you can!

The lawyer definitely sounds like the most prudent course of action. Hell, who knows? It may be one of those flat fee things they do almost everyday.

Please keep us updated, man.