A retired Army veteran who fired tanks, cannons and machine guns while protecting this nation recently asked the U.S. government for the green light to buy a .22-caliber rifle from a Wal-Mart in Tomball.
Permission denied.
The FBI turned down Ron Kelly's application for gun ownership because of a 1971 conviction for minor drug possession.
He was busted with a small bag of marijuana while in high school in North Carolina. As a first-time offender, he was sentenced to a year of probation.
Two years later, right about the time the U.S. was withdrawing from the Vietnam War and there was a hippie on every corner, he enlisted in the Army.
"I went on to serve 20 years," said Kelly, who often wears a camouflaged Army cap over his head of gray hair. "I had a top-secret clearance. It is amazing that they won't let me buy a gun for a misdemeanor 42 years ago."
In Durham, N.C., where Kelly was convicted, officials at the courthouse, the police department and the district attorney's office said he was arrested so long ago that records were not computerized or readily available, if indeed they could even be found.
No one seemed to know how the FBI could have even known about such an old conviction.
He launched an appeal by getting his fingerprints taken at the local police department and sending them, along with the appropriate paperwork, to the FBI for review.
On the appeal application he typed what has become his battle cry: He served honorably for 20 years in the Army and was now being denied the right to bear arms.
Writing to Washington
Late last month, a letter from the Department of Justice arrived in the mail with his answer: Once again, no.
He was told that based on his prior conviction in North Carolina he could not own a gun. He was also told that he could challenge the decision by seeking out the records from his arrest.
And the thousands of volenteers !
. I will be wearing my "I heart guns n coffee" shirt. I like my Glock, too.
