Expert: n/a - 4/11/2009

Question
I was convicted at age 13 of assault 2, I had since forgotten about it as it was 20 years ago.  I have purchased and passed the nics background check 14 times (I'm a avid collector) but when I applied for ccw I was denied due to juvenile conviction.  Am I within my legal rights to own firearms?  Is my record in fact sealed?  I live in Washington state.  Lawyers have said I need to petition the court to reinstate my rights.

Answer
If you was not tried as an adult you have no firearm restrictions according to federal laws.  Getting denied a CCW does not necessarily mean you are restricted from firearms it means your state or the licensing agency does not want you to carry concealed.  You should appeal their decision you was a child when convicted and that should be sealed.  Also try and get a copy of your FBI fingerprint results if your juvenile conviction is not there then they got your record from your local files which is not how it suppose to be done.

Good Luck