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Restoration of Rights

SEE PREVIOUS SECTION TITLED EXPUNGEMENT AND SEALING OF RECORDS

Under 18 USC Sec. 921 et seq, a felony conviction does not prevent you from possessing a firearm, if your civil rights have been restored, or your conviction has been vacated or set aside. Typically, and with few exceptions, a Misdemeanor conviction for Domestic Violence (MDV) under State law, will prohibit you from knowingly, possessing a firearm, under Federal law. This is the Lautenberg Amendment (Title 18 USC Sec. 922(g)(9).

The qualifying event must have as an element of the criminal conviction, the use or attempted use of physical force or the threatened use of a deadly weapon. In simple terms, Domestic Violence Disorderly Conduct or Domestic Violence Criminal Damage is potentially NOT a qualifying event to trigger a Federal ban on the rights of an individual to possess a firearm. Further, if any of your Due Process rights were violated in the conviction itself, such as the right to a trial by jury, if applicable, or a defendant’s right to counsel, then the conviction again is not a qualifying event.