My father is a former Green Beret in the US Army. Now whenever he buys a gun he gets denied until he calls the authorities to get the OK. That's how our government treats our heroes... as possible suspects.
Actually, how it works is, you fill our a background check form and your State submits to Feds. Feds check all States to see if there is a conviction. The State then says yeah or nay, not the Fed. Blame voters. They elected their politicians. So buy privately.