Okay so let me tell you the story of this pistol and my ordeal with purchasing it...
 Getting into 3 gunning has made me realize the amount of equipment I need, and how the firearms I had, just didnât measure up to my needs for this sport. I have always been fond of the 1911 pistols, in fact, Iâve owned 4 of them. Naturally in a .45 caliber, which is great for personal protection. Iâm learning as I go with this sport, and one thing I realized is that .45â˛s have one hell of a recoil. Not exactly great for staying on target and speed (especially on those sub compact models that I was a fan of) I starting having major pains in my wrist so I had to stop shooting .45 and grabbed my Glock 22 model in .40 cal. This is the smallest weight caliber firearm that I owned, at that point. It shot fine however I could see I still needed to drop down to a 9mm. The option to convert and mod the Glock to be competition ready was an option. However with that being my brotherâs duty weapon, I couldnât see modding it to anything to that would take it from the way he wore it everyday at work. So I came to a fork in the road, purchase a new pistol.
 After looking and talking to many people it seemed to be that STI was the preferred gun of the 3 gun community. STIâs are amazingly crafted pistols out of the box, but STI also commanded a hefty price tag for all of that great craftmanship. I hadnât even shot a match yet and wasnât sure if i wanted to drop a few grand on a pistol. Then I remembered one of the first conversations I had with my friend Mehdi. We met years ago and at the time I carried a full size Rock Island Armory 1911 .45 in my car, for personal protection. When he found that out, he was extremely excited to pick my brain about the brand, Rock Island Armory and the quality of my pistol. That was my 2nd 1911 and it ran way more consistently than my Kimber, and let's be honest in a personal protection situation the last thing you wanted was your pistol to jam. I told him that it was a pretty low maintenance gun and wasn't picky about what kind of ammo you used on it, I would have gladly paid 2X of what the pricetag was on that gun. (well under $500)
 Fast forward a few years later... Naturally I called my friend Mehdi first, as with I do with anything pertaining to 3gun. He's been a great help and teacher introducing me to this sport. I asked him what I should purchase, without skipping a beat he suggested the ROCK ISLAND ARMORY TCM TAC ULTRA FULL SIZE HIGH CAPACITY COMBO - 22TCM/9MM Model #51947. This pistol is quite unique because it comes with a 9mm barrel but also included a barrel for a speciality round called .22 TCM. The .22 TCM round is based on the 5.56x45 NATO case and shortened to be the same length as the .38 Super. Kind of a cool added bonus, however for 3 gunning I will stick to my 9mm rounds. I was assured with a minimal amount of mods, this would be the pistol! I got the chance to shoot my his, and before I had run through one magazine of ammo... I was in love. I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. After searching a lot of local dealers and gun shows I wasn't able to locate this pistol. I put out a post on facebook looking for someone to track down this pistol for me locally. A friend had suggested Aleman Arms Company, a small gun dealer located 2 hours south of my home in Houston. Chris Aleman and his family are just starting out as dealers, I'm all for giving small businesses my money before larger companies. I told him what I was looking for and after about a week he had located my pistol. It was overnight shipped to him and I hopped in my car for the long drive to Port Lavaca, TX.
 NOW FOR THE DRAMA....
 I get there and quickly fill out my paperwork to purchase a firearm. Contrary to belief and what the liberal media might tell you... YOU CAN NOT just walk into a dealer or gun show and purchase a firearm from a FFL without first submitting paperwork and having the FFL call the FBI NICS hotline. NICS is used by Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to instantly determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to buy firearms. Before ringing up the sale, cashiers call in a check to the FBI or to other designated agencies to ensure that each customer does not have a criminal record or isnât otherwise ineligible to make a purchase. I've went through this process multiple times a year when making purchases without a problem. This time was different, while Mr. Aleman was on the phone with NICS they had said "FURTHER REVIEW" and placed him on hold, when a supervisor came back on the line I was "DELAYED." Meaning I had to wait up to 3 business days to determine if I was eligible to purchase a firearm. So I had to go home, tail between my legs, with no pistol. What seemed to be the LONGEST 3 DAYS of my life, I was awaiting the phone call to tell me "Hey Amanda, It's Chris at Aleman Arms Company... You've been approved. You can come pick up your pistol." However the call I got from the dealer was quite the opposite, I HAD BEEN DENIED the right to purchase a firearm. I was upset, angry and mostly HUMILIATED. The FBI does not provide any information to the FFL as to why I or anyone else gets a denial. All I was given was a web link, a hotline number and my case number. I frantically called the hotline to get this sorted out... and would you believe it? You can't even reach a live person from this number, just basic information guiding you to the FBI website to file an inquiry as to why you were denied, so I filled out the form and submitted it. Now I had to wait. In the meantime I had to deal with the embarrassment of not being allowed to purchase, at times I was even treated as if I was the criminal. Mind you I have not been arrested and the only thing that comes up on my record is a traffic ticket from 2009. Even my own family at times doubted my eligibility to purchase.
 About a week later I get an Email back from the FBI stating that I had been denied my right to purchase a firearm because "my name sounded too similar to someone else's that had a criminal record." What I found ironic is during this whole process, I had passed a criminal background check from The Department of Homeland Security. The FBI demanded a full set of my rolled fingerprints. So I headed off to the local police department to have an officer roll my prints. (as the FBI demanded) I mailed off my prints, as well as many different forms of ID to prove my identity. After doing hours of research online I discovered that an NICS appeal is a LONG process sometimes taking over a year to have a ruling overturned. Due to the Obama administration the NICS offices had been majorly downsized so basically my appeal would just sit in a pile for god knows how long. I started to explore other avenues, other people had gotten the process expedited by filing a lawsuit on the FBI for violation of civil rights namely, the 2nd and 5th amendment. Others had contacted government officials to assist in pushing the process along. So now... I put on my big girl panties and dug in my heels. Now it wasnât just for me but for those that found themselves in my shoes. I wrote a long letter to the FBI that explained my intent to file suit, then I went to find a lawyer that would have a pair big enough to go after âthe man.â I wrote, e-mailed, faxed letters to EVERY official that I thought could help myself and others in this situation. Yeah, I even went as far as writing a letter to President Trump because something needed to be done about this process that I was told could take up to 16 months. I was prepared for a long lengthy battleâŚ
 To my shock and amazement, my persistence paid off. Somewhere along the line someone blew some steam up their asses and within days of receiving my appeal, they processed my appeal. Within a week or so I got a letter back from the FBIâŚ
 âThe prints you submitted are not identical to the record used to deny your attempt to purchase a firearm.â Along with a notarized certificate âThis is to certify that Amanda Morris IS ELIGIBLE to purchase a firearm from The Aleman Arms Companyâ
 Now what this means for my next purchase, Iâm not sure. I hope I, nor anyone else who is lawful and eligible to purchase firearms has to deal with an ordeal like this.
 Finally after over a month I had gotten my DENIAL OVERTURNED and was given the green light to go pick up my gun.
 Apparently itâs quite rare to get a denial ruling overturned. But, I FUCKING DID IT! I took on âthe manâ and reaffirmed my right to be a LAWFUL gun owner. At one point this was no longer about me or one pistol⌠This was for everyone that ever found themselves in my shoes. I take my rights as an American seriously, and when someone denies my basic rights⌠you best believe Iâm going to stand up.
 Donât let anyone ever take your rights away from you.
 Thank you to:
 Chris Aleman at Aleman Arms Company for helping me through this whole process and truly excelling at customer service.
Rock Island Armory / ARMSCO for making quality and reliable firearms affordable, you have a customer for life.
Officer Jason for taking the time out of your day to do my prints and not treat me like a criminal. Â
To every elected officialâs office that I contacted.
And to everyone else that assisted and treated me with respect during this difficult process.