My cousin got arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm. I am feeling really overwhelmed.

When you're an Arab who is also Christian that means you're not really accepted by a lot of people. In the Middle East we're 2nd class citizens. In the US we get lumped in with all Arabs, who get conflated with all Muslims. <br><br>So that means in the Middle East we're not truly Arab, and in the West we're not truly American. But my cousin though different. He enlisted right out of high school and he got sent to Afghanistan. He was proud to serve, he was proud to be an American. When he came back he was in the reserves until his first deployment and now he's off active duty. <br><br>He's not doing well now though. He was assigned to handle artillery for the US Army. So he was comfortable handling weapons and it never bothered him. When he got back he bought a handgun and a rifle. I never understood why but I never really cared either. <br><br>I did care when he started carrying the handgun. He was impulsive, it worried me. It worried everyone. He was a different person when he got back. <br><br>He started getting in trouble. He would go out drinking, he would get blackout drunk, and he would get in fights. He kept his handgun in his car. He never took it out in a fight, but I am still worried he might one day. <br><br>He got in a fight with his girlfriend. He was blackout. He broke some of her stuff and left. When he came to he was worried he might go back. He was worried he might get arrested. <br><br>He knew that if he got arrested they'd find his handgun in his car. He knew they'd charge him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. <br><br>So he drove to a park and he threw the gun in the river. <br><br>And I guess he was right to worry because the police showed up, they asked for a breathalyzer, and he said no. They arrested him. They searched his car and found the rifle in the back. <br><br>The police report said the rifle was working properly but I know that's bullshit. <br><br>I am just so pissed off at the US. I am an American citizen but the US never treated me like one. It's done nothing but fuck my cousin over. He enlisted. He went to the Middle East, he fought for this country, and this is how they repay him? <br><br>But I'm also scared. I am scared that my cousin might go to jail. I am scared that my cousin might commit suicide.