any Texas Lawyers here?

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Many of us know Texas gun law very well, but you're not likely to get actual legal advice on an Internet forum.

So, if it is something life altering maybe you should talk to an attorney in person.

Otherwise fire away and we can probably answer it.
 
my question is this.................what are the laws on restoration of gun ownership after serving time for a felony. I know that once one completes their whole sentence, including parole etc.....their voting rights are restored. My father, who works for the goverment and owns serveral guns, told me that after parole and a certain amount of time out of trouble, owning shotguns and hunting rifles was legal, but its a lifetime ban on pistol ownership. the fort worth cop that lives across the street told me the same thing. I looked it up on google and there were serveral articles, including the one about the guy who was a gun shop owner and went to mexico and got in trouble.
 
I suspect you need a lawyer rather than a question on the forum.

Having said that, I also suspect that if the felony in question would preclude you from buyin g a firearm, that should answer your question
 
Ummm... Yeah, you need to speak with a pro on that one. Sorry, I don't know anything about that and don't wanna give you any false info.
 
A FEDERAL law provides that if you ever were convicted for any crime for which a judge COULD have sentenced you to a term of greater than one year, you may not purchase a firearm. Read the 4473 buyer's form. May even be a one-year sentence qualifies. I don't have a form here.

That said, there may be ways around that. You need a specialized lawyer who deals in this area.

Lone Star
 
Most lawyers provide a free initial consultation and that's your best bet. I'd suggest you consult one who specializes in Texas firearms laws as all I can tell you is what a couple of men I know told me. Both were Texas residents and did prison time here for nonviolent offenses. Both said that after release or completing parole if they stayed out of trouble for 5 years they could legally own a shotgun or rifle, but no handgun, ever. I have no idea how they may get around the federal law on that, so I am a little unsure just what they meant. It is also possible to receive a pardon from the Governor, and I do know of cases where that has happened. A pardon restores all rights, including handgun ownership, though I don't know if that would also include CCW License. Pardons aren't real common, though. I'd ask a lawyer, just to be sure.
 
I'm not a lawyer, either, and would agree with the suggestion that if you want to proceed, you should consult a firearms-savvy Texas lawyer. However, I'm pretty sure that, as you were told, once 5 years has elapsed following your final completion of sentence (including any probation / parole / supervised time period), and you have not re-offended, then you are allowed to possess a long gun in your home. My recollection is that it is long gun only (i.e., not applicable to handguns), and it is in your home only (i.e., hunting is right out - unless your house is situated such that you can "hunt" from your back porch). I believe, but am not certain, that this is found in Chapter 46 of the Texas Penal code, maybe 46.02; you can google that and see if it's there.
As far as someone's comment about how you can be disabled under Federal law from "receiving" a firearm yet still be enabled under State law to possess a long gun in your home, I believe it gets to states' rights and the deference that Fed law generally shows to State laws. Like, in Louisiana, once you complete your sentence entirely for your FIRST felony conviction, your record is expunged upon your release (an ATF attorney told me this was the case in about 1994). I believe in your case you would be unable to pass an NICS background check, so you would need to buy a long gun from a relative / friend.
Again, seek a lawyer's advice, I may be wrong, as my info is somewhat dated since I haven't checked up on this stuff for several years.
 
As far as someone's comment about how you can be disabled under Federal law from "receiving" a firearm yet still be enabled under State law to possess a long gun in your home, I believe it gets to states' rights and the deference that Fed law generally shows to State laws.
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The police in most states don't care about the federal prohibited possessor statute because it's not a state law. Where the federal prohibited possessor statute usually comes in is after you've been arrested for breaking some state law. Then the state prosecutor goes over the law books with a fine tooth comb looking for anything else you can be charged with, and makes the appropriate referrals (if any) to the federal prosecutor.

While it is theoretically possible for a person to be arrested simply for being in violation of the federal PP statute, I've never heard of it happening. In every case I know of where a person was prosecuted for that, the person was first arrested for breaking some state law (often the state PP statute) and then title 18 USC charges are used as add-ons.

The bottom line is this: If you're one of those people who is prohibited by federal law but not your state's law and you manage to come by a firearm by private sale, there's little chance you'll be busted as long as you stay withing your state's law, but if you do get busted, the penalties will be severe.
 
The bottom line is this: If you're one of those people who is prohibited by federal law but not your state's law and you manage to come by a firearm by private sale, there's little chance you'll be busted as long as you stay withing your state's law, but if you do get busted, the penalties will be severe.
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really, any law is like that... you only get in trouble if you get caught :p

but yea, unless you plan on committing some more crimes, you shouldnt have too much trouble with it, but its still something you'd want to be careful with if you did decide to do this.

as to legally owning one, youd have to consult a specialized lawyer. i believe there are a few execptions, and you can get your status changed depending on circumstances, but good luck with that
 
BATFE has an appeals process for restoration of one's firearms rights. The problem is that they do not budget any money for people to do the review, so no reviews are ever done. For all practical purposes, once one's firearms rights are lost, they're gone forever.
 
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