Disclosing firearm before employment

[3of9]

Hi all, my question is on the process before getting hired with P.D. I was told I might have to disclose owned firearms during a background investigation for a job with P.D. I have concern with doing so, but like to know if this is normal, or i need to question that ?

[9Cal_OC]

Yes, they will ask. And if you lie, it will definitely show up in the background.

[Spanky8601]

Depends on the agency if the question is asked. If they are all legal configuration should not be too big of a concern. If you do not want to answer the question move on to a different agency, most are in the hiring mode.

[esy]

I wasn’t asked.

[P5Ret]

Why would you think they can't find out on their own during a background?

30 some odd years ago I was asked, if I owned guns. It seemed kind of a stupid question since the person asking was one of my hunting buddies at the time.

If they ask just answer honestly, if you don't they will find out, you'll be disqualified, and more than likely "black balled" in the county.

[Blue]

What if you honestly don’t know how many guns you own? Can you get a time out and count them? lol

[johnthomas]

They already know you have guns. Don't lie. They may do a deep dive on your social media. Delete that stupid stuff you may have said.

[3of9]

Thanks all for your answers. The feeling is they have or can easily access that information so why ask . Why do they want to know specifics instead of a general yes or no question. I don't intend to lie or not speak the truth. Just wanted to see is this normally asked question or not. Thanks again.

[1911su16b870]

FWIW in Law Enforcement.

#1 Always tell the truth...you only lie once and then loose your job.

#2 If you don't know...say so...and find out the answer!

[Devilock04]

I had to give my agency a list of guns I owned when I first started. I think it was just the administration at the time because I haven’t had to do it since. It’s a good thing too, because at the time, it was only three. Now I would need multiple additional pages.

My department did record the make/model/caliber/serial number of all the privately owned guns I am certified to carry on duty or off duty when I took the certification class for each one.

[micro911]

I was not asked in 1985. But, the background investigators came to my house and saw my trophies and medals from shooting competitions, while I was not at home. They told my parents it was impressive.

[ronlglock]

I’ll have to find the thread when I am at my computer but a customer of my gun shop was forced by the IA at SFPD to sell half of his firearms to get under the “acceptable limit.” Total crock.

[esy]

Originally Posted by ronlglock

I’ll have to find the thread when I am at my computer but a customer of my gun shop was forced by the IA at SFPD to sell half of his firearms to get under the “acceptable limit.” Total crock.

That’s garbage, but then again, I’m not surprised by SFPD.

I would’ve sold them to family members and bought them back.

[seigex]

Keep in mind, the investigator who does your background already knows how many legal/registered firearms you own, they'll do a NICS check on you. Also, the goal is to weed out people who lie, so it's best just to be honest about what you have. If they catch you in a lie (or it messes with your poly), you'll be passed on. I was asked in 2004 and ended up using one of them as my duty weapon.

[kilrain]

Luckily, I was never asked at any agency I applied for in the early/mid-90s. If it had been a standardized question, I guess I'd have taken a different career path.