WA CPS & Guns...

[shibbershabber]

SO, this is a tough one to swallow... and Im not sure how it is going to turn out.

My ex wife, who just lost a custody case, where I was awarded sole custody of our two children (8&11) for the second time. After being vindicated by a court ordered custody evaluation, etc.

I made it through the ringer against all of the wild complaints made, that included saying that my kids were mentally ill and suicidal. Did I mention that they were 8 and 11? Anyhow, after crawling through every orifice of my life, we won.

Now the ex has sent CPS after me claiming that there are guns in the house, and some other minor things, but CPS said that the guns were their priority.

So after showing that I had a safe and my guns are locked up, except for a couple of muzzleloaders in the garage. She asks about ammunition (seems this is a big deal with them, maybe bigger than the guns) so the ammo is in the garage, in a large box which I hadnt locked nor did I lock the garage door. We had just gone camping over the weekend and I hadnt finished putting everything away.

Honestly though Im not aware that I had to lock up the ammo too. I have a lockable door to the garage, but again, it was unlocked when she came here, so....



Anyone else have to go through any kind of scrutiny over having guns? Or not having ammo locked up?


The other wild card is that my son knows a good amount about guns, my guns... Ive never made a point of hiding them and making it a taboo. When I was a kid, my parents tried that and I jimmied the gun cabinet open and handled them when no one was around. I didnt want my kids fulfilling their curiosity that way so my policy has always been that if you want to see the guns. Ask.
Ive taught proper handling and safety to both kids and never once have they betrayed those teachings.
However, my son is also into star wars, etc... plays video games that he shouldnt when hes at his moms... therefore, like a lot of kids that age isnt shy about things being blown up and all of that stuff.
My fear is that he said stuff like that to the investigator, whether prompted or not, and that these things will be taken out of context and used to paint my son as dangerous and therefore I am allowing access to weapons and ammunition to a dangerous kid. Follow me so far?

Okay. well. My openness about guns may have backfired on me. Im afraid Im going to lose this case over this stuff.

Have any of you guys, in OR or WA had to face this?
PM me if you dont want to post here. I can use all the advice I can get.

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[Sgt Nambu]

Well, first thing I'd do is run over to your favorite sporting goods store and pick up however many Stack On, etc "gun safes" (I can't believe they call them that) it would take to lock that ammo up!
Hope this all works out for you, good luck!

 

[shibbershabber]

Ha, yeah... Its in ammo cans inside of a locking bin/tub thing... Just didn't have the padlock on it

 

[Swedish K]

It's been a few years but I do recall someone on here was going through some of this dealing with an adoption. If I recall when they were going through the home inspections they went so far as to lock up most of the gun magazines (reading material) along with adding a lock box for ammo and accessories besides the gun safe and microvaults for bedside "things that go bump in the night" guns.


Maybe someone who has adopted recently can chime in...

 

[mkwerx]

I think I might engage the services of a lawyer to write a letter telling CPS to F- off. There's no legal requirement to lock ammunition up - they're making up policies/rules/laws where there are none.

Right after that I'd have him send a cease and desist letter to the ex for harassment.

CPS/DHS/CSD - whatever the name they go by - that agency is full of pant wetting ninnies who love nothing more than to break up families, take children, and do all sorts of illegal, immoral crap and far, far too often they get away with it. The women - and occasional man - who work there hate men, and don't give a damn about the law or your rights.

Once you get them in your life, they are far more intrusive and hard to get away from than the IRS or the NSA.

It is an institution that needs to go away because there simply is no reforming it. Leave the investigating and enforcement action to the police - who, despite the seeming increase in bad apples - generally stay within constitutional bounds and are far more knowledgeable about the laws they deal with than any nitwit CPS/DHS caseworker.

Civil matters should be enforced via civil court orders and legal counsel.

Good luck to you. Maybe your ex will get hit by a bus tomorrow and your life will get a whole lot less stressful.

 

[Joe13]

Best of luck man.

Should things turn south your welcome to store anything you want at my place temporarily.

 

[BDA.45]

Best of luck man.

Should things turn south your welcome to store anything you want at my place temporarily.

WITH a proper BGC of course......

 

[Joe13]

WITH a proper BGC of course......

Well... He did sell me all of his guns back in September of 2014, I just havn't had the opportunity to take possession of them yet

 

[mikeybuck]

I think I might engage the services of a lawyer to write a letter telling CPS to F- off. There's no legal requirement to lock ammunition up - they're making up policies/rules/laws where there are none.

Right after that I'd have him send a cease and desist letter to the ex for harassment.

 

[decklin]

Why are you letting CPS in your house? Your lawyer should have been present.
It's very simple. No warrant, no entrance, no questions answered, no search, no nothing.
They are not your friends. They are not there to help you.
There is no legal requirement to lock up ammo.
YOU have to protect yourself.

 

[svxr8dr]

I'm a single Father of a now 14 year old girl. My divorce took place about 7 years ago, where I had my posterior handed to me (at great personal expense) and was regulated to a every other weekend Dad by default. Fast Forward a few years later, I now have sole custody and like decklin stated, there is no reason CPS should be in your home. You need a lawyer (and I loathe them), but no warrant no entry is good mantra to live by

 

[Member 5605]

It's been a few years but I do recall someone on here was going through some of this dealing with an adoption. If I recall when they were going through the home inspections they went so far as to lock up most of the gun magazines (reading material) along with adding a lock box for ammo and accessories besides the gun safe and microvaults for bedside "things that go bump in the night" guns.


Maybe someone who has adopted recently can chime in...

PlayboyPenguin is who you are thinking of.


@shibbershabber I feel your pain. Going through a custody deal right now and we (wife and I) were just awarded temporary. I may have to do the same and lock up all munitions.

I think CSP would come in if they satisfy "do you have a warrant?"

Where to go from here:
do your best to buy whatever Homak cabinets you can to stuff everything into, get it to a buddy's house or whatever you can do. Hell hath no fury like a scored woman! Even Proverbs has mentionings of a Contentious Woman! Better to be on the roof that in the house with one. That their grumblings are like the constant drippings of water!!!

 

[MD11Noser]

My son won me a nice Napa rolling tool box a few years ago that I use to store my ammo and reloading supplies, it locks try something like that. Good luck with CPS.

 

[scrandall01215]

GET ADVICE FROM A GOOD LAWYER!!!
CPS is evil! I too got custody of my kids, and I too went through the wringer with CPS in Wa. And Or. Over the same accusations in both states ( not the same as yours though) WA. Did their investigation and cleared me of any wrongdoing and then a yr and a half later she said the same stuff to OR. ( I still lived in Wa. She in OR. ) and they didn't trust Washington' out come and did their own investigation 6 months later I was cleared again. Did I mention it wasn't even their jurisdiction but they continued anyway. They are satans mean older brother!
Seriously at least pay for a consultation it will be the best money spent. In the mean time just get the ammo out say you shot it anything and be very very careful on ANYTHING you might say.

My prayers are with you!
Stacy

 

[41Slinger]

CPS/DHS/CSD - whatever the name they go by - that agency is full of pant wetting ninnies who love nothing more than to break up families

mkwerx gets my vote for quote of the day, pant wetting ninnies, LMFAO Thanks mkwerz
Good luck with all that shibbershabber.

 

[Heywood]

Cps in washington and in Oregon, the department of human resources tried to way over step with me when I adopted, they tried to create a few extra hoops to jump through, I told them to give Richard a kiss and the judge agreed with me. You can't let them bully you on this as there isn't a law requiring you to lock up your ammo, this is why we now have 4 branches of government. The people let it happen with each little over step. You have to be blunt and forceful because you are in the right on this.
Don't take it in the shorts like the sheep. It will only get worse for you and others after you.
This is your home and your family, treat them like any other threat that would try to take your children from you or tell you how to live your life.
How far we have fallen....

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Ha, yeah... Its in ammo cans inside of a locking bin/tub thing... Just didn't have the padlock on it

OUCH! I missed that one!

 

[Swedish K]

Cps in washington and in Oregon, the department of human resources tried to way over step with me when I adopted, they tried to create a few extra hoops to jump through, I told them to give Richard a kiss and the judge agreed with me. You can't let them bully you on this as there isn't a law requiring you to lock up your ammo, this is why we now have 4 branches of government. The people let it happen with each little over step. You have to be blunt and forceful because you are in the right on this.
Don't take it in the shorts like the sheep. It will only get worse for you and others after you.
This is your home and your family, treat them like any other threat that would try to take your children from you or tell you how to live your life.
How far we have fallen....

LOL - we looked into adoption at one point and went to the little CPS class they want you to take as part of the process where they tell you they have the right to drop in on you any time unannounced to determine home suitability - and not only prior to adoption but they indicated throughout the adoption process and something like 5 years after the adoption is final. I'm sorry but if I adopt a kid and the process is complete you no longer have unlimited access to my home. There was a 20 something cop from Longview/Kelso area who was there as well - they didn't seem all that thrilled with his occupation or that he carries a gun for a living and told him he had to lock his equipment up when at home and strongly suggested he leave it all at work. I do recall them stating that evidence that you let the kid you adopted crawl in to bed with their parents even to watch a movie or in the case of a nightmare is sufficient to remove the child from the household. I get the concern of co-sleeping being a suffocation risk to infants and that they should have their own bed for "normal" living conditions. What I don't get is that they automatically decide anyone letting their kid sleep with them in the case of nightmares or letting them watch a movie in your room makes you a perv.

Considering most infants they offer for adoption have various issues (drug/alcohol addiction at birth, health problems, etc.) or are older and have been through a half dozen or more foster homes that they speak of in horror story terms and have behavioral / emotional issues from that exposure. Maybe they should do as much investigation into those foster homes long term that they put into people who adopt.

As for OR CPS, a former co-worker's ex son in law was an abusive pos and was in and out of prison. His two daughters were serious problem children - both had been sexually and physically abused from a young age to help him pay for his drug addictions. They are about 12 and 14 and both are violent and can't be placed with other kids as they try to molest them. The 2 or 3 times they did have them placed for adoption he would parole out of Folsom and throw a wrench in the system even though the CA courts have removed his rights to the kids OR pulls them from the adoption process and tries to return them to him without contacting his parole agent. You would think that after the first notification he has no rights they would quit screwing the only chance these kids have at being rehabilitated to live a somewhat normal life....

 

[Vanillagerrilla]

Talk to a good Lawyer. I can recommend one in Vancouver.
I severed ties with my ex Succubus over two years ago and I am now gearing up to wage a custody battle for my boys.
Its sad that the people affected the most - the kids - have little say in the outcome of these types of situations.

 

[decklin]

CPS are a bunch of lying leaches. Doesn't seem to matter what state they're in.
My wife and I can't have kids. We got in touch with WA State CPS/foster care to find out what our options were.
They told us to become foster parents. That would enable us to adopt a foster child.
So we spent 6 weeks getting ready to go through all their classes. We went to the orientation and were told there is no such thing as foster to adopt.
Then they went on to tell us about a couple that adopted a baby that had been living with them for two years, ever since it was a newborn. Mom was a drug addict and almost killed her baby.
After mom got out of prison she demanded custody of her child and it was granted!

Then they got into all the rules.
Beer in the fridge? Gotta put a lock on the fridge.
Carry a gun? Gotta unload it, lock it in safe, store ammo in separate safe.
Got a dog? Gotta be evaluated.
It went on and on.
At the end we and several other, extremely pissed off couples, left without bothering to collect our certificates of completion.
They ended up mailing it to us. We threw it in the trash.
Now my wife and I will have to go through an adoption agency, shell out thousands of dollars, and wait several years on a list.

My best friend is from AZ and his experiences with CPS and the courts have not been any better.
We served in the Infantry together. During our first tour his ex wife (married at the time) posted a pic to social media. She was featured in the pic very pregnant, on a guys lap at a party, beer in one hand, cigarette in the other, and a bong on the table.
His daughter ended up being ok.
They got divorced after the birth and he remarried.
His ex took the daughter back to AZ. We were both stationed at Lewis.
He sought custody and was told his job was too unstable because of deployments and custody was denied.
So he left the infantry after making staff sergeant in less than 5 years.
Got a really good job with the post office.
Sought custody again and was told no because he lives out of state.
Now he is moving his wife who is from Washington, and his 8 month old daughter who was born in Washington to AZ.

It's just crazy.