I'm Barry Michaels and this is a part of my story.
I was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. As a young man I kicked around several colleges and after graduating Chiropractic College in 1969, I moved to Southern California where I lived for twenty plus years until relocating to Las Vegas in 1992 and have lived here since.
In 1978, after practicing chiropractic for a number of years I made a decision which changed my life. I decided my patients were interfering with my other businesses interests so I sold my practice and never looked back. For the next forty years I started and managed numerous business from a pizza parlor to a national airline something I continue to do through this day.
I’m a divorced father of two daughters who have always been my first priority. Eleza who is 24 and Erikka who is 27, both graduated the Clark County Public School System and I’m proud to say they both earned academic scholarships to the university of their choosing.
For the purpose of disclosure, I have what many would call a “checkered past” having spent fifteen months at the Nellis Federal Prison Camp in North Las Vegas after pleading guilty to a federal charge of securities and a tax violations.
It was during that stay that I became a frequent visitor to the their law library to appeal certain aspects of my sentence. I quickly realized I enjoyed helping other inmates with their legal issues and soon acquired a special love for the law. It was then that I promised myself upon my release I would go to law school.
Immediately after my release, I began by taking the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), followed by applications to several law schools but was eventually turned down by all. Instead I enrolled at
the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) where in 2005, I earned Bachelor Degree in Political Science and in 2007, a Master’s in Public Administration. During this time I continued to apply to different law schools and like before without success. However, I continued to study the law on my own with an emphasis on the Supreme Court and the Constitution.
After taking my first political science class I realized how important politics were and how it affects our everyday life. I also discovered even with a felony conviction I could still run for political office and that because my conviction occurred in California my civil rights were restored immediately after my probation period had ended.
My first political event was in ‘02 when I wrote and sponsored two Nevada Initiatives. The first would have provided additional funds for K – 12 public education, while the second was to change a Nevada Statute from a presumption of”joint custody” to “shared custody.”
In 2005 I decided to run for the 3rd., Congressional District of Nevada and the first thing I did was to make sure everyone knew I was a felon. I have since run for that same congressional seat several times without a win.
In February of 2016 I formed Americans For Civil Rights an IRS approved 501c3 public charity See: www.americansforcivilrights.org. Shortly thereafter I filed a class action lawsuit against the Attorney General of the United States and the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) attacking a provision of the Federal Gun Control Act. The case is currently pending in the 9th Circuit and expected to make it to the Supreme Court. See: www.michaelsvslynch.com
I have learned a lot over the past twenty years and have a particular passion for reducing our country’s high rate of recidivism through criminal justice reform. Although many are unaware of it, recidivism continues to grow yearly and its cost affect all tax payers.
Thank you for reading my story
Barry Michaels
Declaring Candidatcy
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