getting gun rights restored

[chaddy]

Anybody know if and how to get your gun rights back in n.c.? My father inlaw had drug charges 25 years ago and now he wants a gun. Can this happen. Chatham county n.c. if someone can let me thanks?

 

[bikemutt]

It appears there is a court procedure for restoration of gun rights in NC. It is pretty narrow, you'll need to read it carefully in order to determine if your father-in-law is eligible. If after reading the cited document you believe he may qualify, consider hiring an attorney skilled in these matters. State legislators are unlikely to ease up on this, taking advantage of the opportunity now rather than later is in his best interest.

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/pdf/ByArticle/Chapter_14/Article_54A.pdf

Good luck.

 

[mljdeckard]

Yep. It won't happen without legal assistance. I would get a few consultations to find out which attorneys actually have experience in making this happen. You know how much a lawyer costs? More than a little, and less than too much.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I would assume it would vary from state to state, but it's very doable in Arkansas. I know a guy who was arrested on felony possession with intent to distribute and got his CCW 2 years later. Not sure what all hoops he had to jump through, but it happened.

 

[mortablunt]

Well if you can get the records expunged or sealed, that would work. I know that in Virginia, you can only have them expunged if you were acquitted in the first place and you do it within the first few months.

 

[bikemutt]

I know that in Virginia, you can only have them expunged if you were acquitted in the first place and you do it within the first few months.

If a person was acquitted what is there to expunge?

 

[mortablunt]

^ That's exactly what I think is outrageous.

 

[bikemutt]

The more I learn about all the different state's gun laws the more I :banghead:

 

[brickeyee]

And even if the court records are expunged there is stil the arrest record.

If you are acquitted the court records are removed.

You still cannot claim to have never been charged though.

What place restricts gun rights perpetually for being charged?

Convicted is another ball of wax, and in many places it is damn near imposable to get those records expunged (and to a great extent, rightly so).

Some states have a process in place to have rights restored, and so does the Federal government.
The budget for the Federal process zeroed out every year by Congress though.
making the process dead.

 

[crracer_712]

Felons finding it easier to regain firearms rights

I have a justice.gov report that goes in depth about persons retaining there right to posses firearms, restored by the state, which the FBI acknowledges to be adequate to pass the NICS back ground check.

The thought of once firearms rights are lost and cannot be gained back are a myth, depending on the state of conviction. Some states do not have provisions for restoration of firearms rights, but more do than don't. And according to the justice.gov report those restoration rights are honored.

I had previously posted the link and the section of the report that covers this.

I know a few people who have been convicted of a felony, had their record expunged, pass NICS and have state issued CCW. This is in Kansas. Domestic Violence charges are the most common for losing right permanently.

 

[crracer_712]

Some Denied Persons Are Subsequently Determined by the ATF Not to Be Prohibited

After performing additional research, the ATF frequently determines that the denied individual is not prohibited from possessing a firearm. Generally this occurs because the FBI could not readily determine the individual's prohibited status due to inaccurate and incomplete automated state records.
We found that 69 of the 197 (35 percent) delayed denials and 16 of the 200 (8 percent) standard denials in our sample were applicants who should not have been prohibited from purchasing a firearm.34 Special agents in each of the four divisions we visited stated that this was a common occurrence. Although the investigative files did not specify why the subjects in our sample were found not to be prohibited, our discussions with ATF personnel identified several reasons why this generally occurs: (1) the subject's firearm rights had been restored under state law, (2) the subject's prohibition for a misdemeanor crime of violence did not meet the federal criteria, or (3) a protective order had expired or was about to expire. These circumstances are discussed in detail in the following sections.

Firearm Rights Have Been Restored

Currently, when a federal crime is the prohibiting factor, the person's firearm rights can only be restored through a presidential pardon.35 In relation to persons prohibited from possessing firearms due to a criminal conviction, the GCA states: "Any conviction which has been expunged, or set aside or for which a person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored shall not be considered a conviction for purposes of this chapter, unless such pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms."36

All but two states have provisions for restoring firearm rights.37 Firearm rights are restored automatically or through application. The conditions for restoration vary greatly among the states by age (juveniles versus adults), type of crime, and the time frame between release from prison or parole and restoration of rights. In some states, restoration rights specifically apply only to convicted felons, which may result in a paradoxical situation in which someone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is permanently barred from owning a firearm, while someone who kills his spouse has his firearm rights restored after serving his sentence.

Twenty-one states automatically restore firearm rights upon release from prison or completion of parole.38 Forty-five states have provisions for restoring firearm rights through application.39 A person, after a specified waiting period in which no additional crimes have been committed, can submit an application to the appropriate authority for restoration. Again, the conditions vary widely among the states.

Because these provisions affect the person's right to possess a firearm, it is important for FBI NICS examiners, Brady Operations Branch specialists, NICS coordinators, and ATF special agents to be familiar with them. Automatic restorations should readily be identified by FBI NICS examiners and Brady Operations specialists. Although we were unable to verify employee expertise in applicable state law, FBI NICS and Brady Operations Branch management assured us that their employees, who are assigned cases for particular states, have expertise in the applicable state laws. Because it is difficult for FBI NICS management to ensure that the automatic restoration provisions are taken into account when determining whether to deny a firearm to a person, the ATF should report exceptions back to the FBI. Currently there is no mechanism to do so.

Restoration of rights through application is much more difficult for the FBI NICS examiner to ascertain. According to FBI NICS management, states are responsible for entering the names of persons whose rights have been restored into one of the criminal databases (III or NCIC). If this is properly done, the NICS check should identify not only the prohibiting factor, but also the restoration. However, considering the inaccessibility and incompleteness of some state criminal history records, it is unlikely that restoration information will be identified during the NICS check.40

Evaluation and Inspection Report