Anyone know how to restore 2A rights in NYS?

[emails.chris]

A friend of a friend resides in Westchester County, 15-20 years ago he did prison time for Heroin/burglary.

I read on a blog somewhere that it has been done in other states, I've told my fiend to tell him to take up archery for now & I will ask around. Thanks

 

[dprice3844444]

just google"civil rights restoration in ny" and or he might have to go through local senator/congressman for a presidential pardon.

http://search.aol.com/aol/search?query=civil+rights+restoration+in+ny&s_it=keyword_rollover

 

[Midwest]

A friend of a friend resides in Westchester County, 15-20 years ago he did prison time for Heroin/burglary.

I read on a blog somewhere that it has been done in other states, I've told my fiend to tell him to take up archery for now & I will ask around. Thanks

How long of a prison sentence did your friend serve? If its over a year, that is a felony and a presidential pardon might be the only option....

 

[emails.chris]

Yeah he did 2 years, he's really not my friend, its a friend of a friend.

He has a felony but he has reformed and now owns a business, some of his employees are hunters and he would love to go on hunting trips with them. He also wants to allow them to have a gun at work without any question of breaking laws.

 

[emails.chris]

SEEMS LIKE Minnesota/Washington state are the place to be for this.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/us/felons-finding-it-easy-to-regain-gun-rights.html?pagewanted=all

 

[Birch Knoll]

If its over a year, that is a felony and a presidential pardon might be the only option....

Er, no... if it was a State crime, the President cannot pardon it at all. State law will control. If it was Federal, there's not a lot of recourse. Presidential pardons are awfully rare.

 

[Birch Knoll]

SEEMS LIKE Minnesota/Washington state are the place to be for this.

Not for the OP's acquaintance. Firearms rights must be restored by the state in which the conviction took place.

 

[drsfmd]

He's got slim chances... spend a fortune on a lawyer, and likely still be told no.

 

[brickeyee]

And even with a pardon from a governor for a state charge you have to clean up all the data bases.

NICS will give a 'do not proceed/denied.'

And if it was a Federal charge, you need a pardon from POTUS.

 

[bikemutt]

This isn't exactly current (2007) but there may be hope:

Firearms: A Certificate of Relief from Disabilities may expressly restore firearm rights. N.Y. Correct. Law §§ 700(1)(a), 701(1). It is not clear whether a CRD can provide relief from the federal firearms bar.

A Certificate of Relief from Disabilities (CRD) is available to people with no more than one felony conviction and any number of misdemeanor convictions

http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/File/Collateral%20Consequences/NewYork.pdf

 

[emails.chris]

looking into it it seems difficult but not impossible, thanks for the awswers

 

[drsfmd]

looking into it it seems difficult but not impossible, thanks for the awswers

No, it's pretty much impossible. These aren't exactly white collar crimes or DWI, and you have to convince a judge to issue the CRD... and they won't want to put their neck on the line for some dirtbag drug dealer/burglar. Doesn't matter how much of a model citizen the guy may be now, he was found guilty of very serious crimes.

 

[bikemutt]

The three key ingredients to a successful outcome are 1) a sharp lawyer skilled in these matters, 2) the right judge and 3) money.

1) will help find 2) for the right amount of 3).

Do not lose hope, rehabilitation is a cornerstone of justice. As long as there is no repeating pattern of unlawful behavior, 15-20 years of good behavior counts for quite a bit. Judges are not all cowering for cover when cover is patently manifest.

 

[drsfmd]

Judges are not all cowering for cover when cover is patently manifest.

You don't live in NY!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Drug_Laws

depending on how much heroin he had, it could have been a very stiff sentence...

 

[bikemutt]

depending on how much heroin he had, it could have been a very stiff sentence...

I imagine you are right about that, two years is a long time to send someone away for, probably not just a pipe bowl full. And it sounds as if it's not just the sentence; he was in for that duration. No doubt the burglary was an aggravating circumstance as well.

I think though, a free consultation with a lawyer familiar in these matters should at least tell him if it's worth pursuing, or just fold. That's if NY lawyers actually offer free consultations

 

[emails.chris]

Originally Posted by drsfmd: No, it's pretty much impossible.

in New York, felons who want to possess firearms must obtain a Certificate of Good Conduct that expressly restores their firearms rights either from the Board of Parole or their sentencing court.

There were 17 issued in 2010 and 36 in 2009. I did not find out how many are issued by the courts.

 

[crracer_712]

How long of a prison sentence did your friend serve? If its over a year, that is a felony and a presidential pardon might be the only option....

That's inaccurate. Several states have provisions for gun rights restoration, some it is automatic after a pre determined amount of time.

http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/ATF/e0406/results.htm

The above report goes in to depth about how Some denied NICS background checks were actually an error in that the agents were unaware of a given states law in which rights were restored, or perhaps that state didn't properly enter information.

 

[Feanor]

Its pretty tough to get your rights restored, but by no means impossible, though I have little doubt that NYS would be one place I'd not want to proceed from, in such a venture. On the topic itself, if your sentence has been successfully completed, and especially if it was not a violent felony, the state & the fed have no constitutional authority to perma-ban you from exercising your rights, though the statist thugs have done just that, acted extra-constitutionally for decades.

 

[WALKERs210]

Don't know who dropped the ball or if I just overlooked something. A few years ago two different men I knew had served prison time and lost the right to bear arms, however in Alabama - Walker Cty. they were issued a pistol permit but when attempting to buy one legally one was denied and the second was approved. The second one had served time in Fed prison.