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Can a felon own a gun?
In this article, you’ll learn about:
Let’s dig in.
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No, felons are not allowed to own guns.
Felons lose their firearm rights as soon as they get charged with a felony.
If you owned a gun before your felony conviction, you have to get rid of it.
The government’s goal is to keep convicted felons from committing more crimes with guns.
When a felon gets caught with a gun by law enforcement, they can:
Each state has its own gun laws for felons.
Generally, felons are prohibited under federal and state firearm laws from:
Ammunition gets defined as a projectile or projectile core that can get used in a firearm.
This also includes reloading components, like:
Some states have a process that restores a felon’s right to bear arms.
This is through a process called “executive clemency.”
Executive clemency is the executive power to:
The person who has the power to grant executive clemency to felons is:
A felon caught with a gun could face federal and state criminal charges.
On the federal level, a felon owning a gun is a federal crime that violates 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
Violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) with a firearm possession is a felony offense that gets you:
On the state level, the penalty for a felon in possession of a gun varies.
Some examples are:
Let’s say a police officer charges you with a:
You wouldn’t spend 17 years in jail.
You’d only serve the longer sentence (if you have a good criminal defense attorney).
Meaning you’d only serve the 10-year federal prison term.
This rule was made by the United States Supreme Court.
With concurrent state and federal sentences, you only serve the longer of the two sentences.
This ruling was made in the case of United States v. DiFrancesco (penal code 449 U.S. 117).
A non-violent felon cannot own a gun (at the federal level).
Even non-violent felons have to get their civil rights restored to own a gun.
But, on a state level, some states allow non-violent felons to own a gun.
(Learn about which state below, in the next section.)
Examples of non-violent felonies are:
But, it’s important to note that federal-level gun laws take precedence over state laws.
You can still get in trouble if you are following state laws, but not federal gun laws.
States are allowed to make their own rules regarding:
Federal laws are generally more restrictive and overrule state laws.
These felonies are strictly prohibited from owning guns on state and federal levels:
All of these felonies involve:
These felonies do not have to involve the use of a gun.
Some states even have further restrictions for felons to own a gun, like:
It’s illegal for a convicted felon to be in possession of a firearm.
But, the laws vary by state.
Let’s look at the different rules by state.
The states that allow a felon to own a gun during their sentence are:
Felons are not automatically allowed to own guns in these states.
For a felon to own a gun during their sentences in these states, you have to:
To do that, you need to:
These states allow felons to own guns for things like:
Felons have to have their civil rights restored by the state to regain gun rights.
This involves petitioning the courts or governor’s office with:
The steps for a felon to get their gun rights back are:
Here is a table that tells you, for each state, if a felon can regain gun rights from:
All states will also allow felonies to automatically regain gun rights.
But only after a certain number of years AFTER they have completed their sentence.
This includes probation and everything.
This chart also shows how many years after sentence completion a felon can regain gun rights.
State | Pardon | Expungement | Court Order | Years After Sentence |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Yes | No | Yes | 3 |
Alaska | Yes | Yes | No | 5 |
Arizona | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 |
Arkansas | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
California | Yes | Yes | No | 10 |
Colorado | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Connecticut | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Delaware | Yes | Yes | No | 5 |
Florida | Yes | No | Yes | 5 |
Georgia | Yes | No | Yes | 5 |
Hawaii | Yes | Yes | No | 5 |
Idaho | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Illinois | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4 |
Indiana | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Iowa | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Kansas | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Kentucky | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Louisiana | Yes | No | Yes | 5 |
Maine | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Maryland | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
Massachusetts | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
Michigan | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
Minnesota | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Mississippi | Yes | No | Yes | 5 |
Missouri | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 |
Montana | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
Nebraska | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Nevada | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 |
New Hampshire | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
New Jersey | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
New Mexico | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
New York | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
North Carolina | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
North Dakota | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Ohio | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Oklahoma | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Oregon | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Pennsylvania | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Rhode Island | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
South Carolina | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
South Dakota | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Tennessee | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
Texas | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Utah | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Vermont | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
Virginia | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Washington | Yes | Yes | No | 5 |
West Virginia | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Wisconsin | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Wyoming | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 |
On average, you can get a firearm 5 years after you complete your felony sentence.
But how long after a felony you can get a firearm ranges from 3-10 years.
Here is some data on:
The data is:
You can check out the table in the previous section to see the data for each state.
Felons are not allowed to own any type of gun or ammunition.
They are also prohibited from owning other weapons, like:
Yes, a felon can own a muzzleloader.
This is because they are considered “black powder firearms.”
They use a form of propellant that is not considered a modern firearm.
Some states don’t allow muzzleloaders.
Reach out to our law offices to see if you’re allowed in your state.
Yes, felons can own a black powder gun and components like:
Some states don’t allow black powder firearms.
Reach out to our law offices to see if you’re allowed in your state.
No, felons are not allowed to own a shotgun.
Here are other questions that we get asked by felons seeking to regain their gun rights.
No, you cannot buy a gun if you were charged with, but not convicted of, a felony.
This is outlined in the Gun Control Act of 1968.
No, it is illegal for a convicted felon to live in a home with guns.
The criminal charges that disqualify you from owning a gun are:
No, a felon cannot own a gun for home protection.
Felons are not allowed to own guns, regardless of the intended purpose.
Violating these gun laws can land you a felony, $250,000 in fines, and 10 years in prison.
No, it is illegal for a felon to be around someone carrying a firearm.
“Being around someone” means either:
Yes, gun laws allow a felon to own a gun 10 years after completing their sentence.
Under federal law, you cannot buy a gun after the expungement of a felony.
You will have to petition the courts or your governor to regain your second amendment rights.
This article is not legal advice.
Fill out the form on this page for a free consultation on regaining your gun rights.
We have helped hundreds of people with felony charges gain back their gun rights.
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