WA CPS & Guns...

[Vanillagerrilla]

Yeah, CPS never comes into the picture for a GOOD reason...

 

[shibbershabber]

Well.

I do have a lawyer, a good one actually who is giving me a hell of a deal and has changed my outlook on the kind of people that are lawyers. Hes probably the exception to the rule though.

Two reasons I let her in. First, My Ex's new husband had been acting somewhat inappropriately with my older daughter and when she mentioned these things to her school counselor, she is a mandatory reporter, and called CPS. Unfortunately, since my ex lives in Oregon the WA cps couldnt really do anything except try to call my ex... they have no authority across the river and the OR cps didnt want anything to do with it since my daughter is a WA resident full time with me.
I thought it was some kind of follow up visit.

Second reason is that during the above mentioned investigation my lawyer advised me to be as open as possible. And as I wasnt doing anything illegal and my kids are perfectly fine, I entertained her questions. The argument of "get a warrant" would likely have resulted in them getting a warrant and us having to talk to them anyway.... and my giving an uncooperative appearance (as Im sure my ex did) Its a matter of saving face.
Now had she asked to see all of the guns and ask detail in that regard, we may have had a different conversation... she was only interested in the existence of a safe.

After the visit and talking with my wife and daughter, things were pretty much wrapped up. I provided contact info for a number of people who could vouch for me and the kids as well as my years of experience in the firearms trade and my ability to safely regulate access to firearms.

I think in the end I had a positive impact, where I was able to show the investigator (a young woman in her 20s) that guns arent necessarily bad and people who own a lot of guns can actually be legitimate people, raise families, etc... who knows, maybe I made an impact

Along with all of that we sent off some things showing my ex's questionable mental health status as well as an email from her to me regarding taking the kids shooting, where she says that she doesnt have a problem with it at all.

Long story somewhat short, all of the complaints were 'unfounded'


Its amazing how some people just get away with things. In my ex's case... she blew a .26 after crashing her car going the wrong way on the Broadway bridge, with a passenger. She didnt even do a night in jail, got out of most fines and got her license back. She comitted insurance fraud (felony in WA) claiming false injuries to her and my kids after a read-end accident... the DA declined to prosecute it... Her husband was suspected of borderline 'grooming' my daughter... because of jurisdictional matters, no one investigated it... she makes false/malicious claims to CPS (misdemeanor in WA) and no one does anything about it...

She claims the kids are suicidal and I have to pay $2k for a social worker to, in the end, basically agree with my side of the case... my son kept a .22 shell in his pocket after a camping trip and I have to get turned upside down for three weeks.

Thats just the tip of the iceberg...

My current wife and I have agreed that no matter what goes down between us... we're never getting divorced.


Thanks for you all sharing your experiences.

 

[Joe13]

Very awesome!


Congratulations it's done and in such a tidy way.

 

[Deebow]

Scene: CPS at your house on your front doorstep Door is closed.

CPS Worker: Do you have any guns?

You: (Through the door) No.

CPS Worker: I need to come in and check.

You: Get a warrant (Holding phone and calling attorney)

Making them get a warrant makes them have to convince a judge why it is they need to enter your home, and since you have already won a court case and proved what a good dude and dad you are and thus been awarded custody of your kids. It puts them in the position of having to convince a judge otherwise, which a lawyer for your ex was already unable to do.

It also puts them on notice that their shenanigans will be called out and that they best have their ducks lined up when they come talk to you.

But it sounds like it turned out OK. I hope it continues to go well. Custody stuff just plain sucks.

 

[Heywood]

I'm glad it worked out for you. Just an FYI. You likely didn't change any opinion of the scocialist worker, you just helped her become more confident in asking people to do things they do not have to do while making them feel as though they have no choice.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

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!

BiMart has good SALE prices on Stack On products. Starting tomorrow they have the Stack On 10 gun Security cabinet on sale for $89.

On Thursday 10/22 the Stack On 14 gun fire safe goes on sale for $299.