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A Felony acquired when young


Buckshot Bear

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With the US felony ruling of it being for 'life' what can a person who acquired a felony when young and immature, do forty or fifty years later when they have been an upright citizen for all that time since in regards to armed home security for their family?

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You can petition to have your civil rights restored. However it is rather complicated.

 

If convicted in Federal court (or Military) there is no way to get your gun rights restored short of a Presidential Pardon as BATF is banned by congress to expend funds processing the paperwork.

 

If convicted in State court you have to pettition that state and every state's process is different. 

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15 minutes ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

Samurai sword or bow and arrow.  Once you're a convicted felon, you have lost your right to possess any firearm for life.  

 

Not true.

 

The short answer is it depends on a lot of factors but it is possible.

 

Probably not 100% accurate but a place to start. 50-State Comparison: Loss & Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights

 

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13 minutes ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

Samurai sword or bow and arrow.  Once you're a convicted felon, you have lost your right to possess any firearm for life.  

 

I think a felon can own and use some black powder muzzle stuffers.

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I know in SC just get a lawyer it's much easier to remove it that way. I had plenty of students in my CWP class that had it done. And I know in some states the black powder thing doesn't work. It's any thing that could be considered a weapon which unfortunately it up to the judge.

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I knew a guy, now deceased, who got caught up in the MJ / Hash thing as a young guy.  Volume was enough to make it a significant Felony.  He was able to hire a good, connected, lawyer in a blue state, get it expunged.  I don't think he ever got a carry permit, but he could have guns and vote.  Suspect it was pricey even back them.  RIP my old friend, haven't thought about you often enough.

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BTW, you don’t “acquire” a felony, like a head cold.

You commit one.

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There may be ways to have the felony removed from your record depending on the state and the charge.   As a general rule, once you get a felony conviction, you're screwed for life.  I expect there would have to be some pretty extraordinary circumstances for a judge to expunge a felony conviction or a Governor to issue a pardon.   There is no distinction between a muzzle loader firearm and any other firearm under Georgia law.  Every state has it's own laws.  

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14 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

BTW, you don’t “acquire” a felony, like a head cold.

You commit one.

Yes but in todays US, almost everything is a felony. I'm very surprised a speeding ticket is not a felony today.

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12 minutes ago, Slapshot said:

Yes but in todays US, almost everything is a felony. I'm very surprised a speeding ticket is not a felony today.

 

Out of interest what would be an easy way to get a felony that would surprise folks?

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17 minutes ago, Buckshot Bear said:

 

Out of interest what would be an easy way to get a felony that would surprise folks?

Good question

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Repeated DUIs, bad checks, are probably the most common. Another thing that bit thousands of people was the Clinton Era expansion to include misdemeanor Domestic Battery convictions. What was brutal was there were many cases where it used to be common in divorce cases that a woman would accuse the husband of abuse to improve her leverage. Many men took a misdemeanor conviction and thought nothing of it until 1995 when this new ruling came down. All of a sudden thousands of men across the country lost their right to own or carry guns on their job, thereby losing their jobs and the woman her alimony support. And, just to be fair, many were guilty of abuse and just argued it down to a misdemeanor.

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Copied from LegalMatch. This one surprised me, under vandalism is listed   

  • Graffiti: any writing, drawing or symbol applied to any surface without the owners consent

The following is a general list of felony crimes:

  • Property crimes: Grand theft, arson, and vandalism.
  • Drug offenses: Distributing, selling, or trafficking drugs.
  • Sex crimes: Sexual assault and human trafficking.
  • Violent offenses: First-degree murder, second-degree murder, and robbery.
  • White collar crimes: Embezzlement, securities fraud, and tax evasion.
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Many States have a "youthful offender" provision in their laws that allow first time young offender to have the conviction removed once they've completed their probationary period.  There are other ways to have a restoration of rights.  For example, the person could petition and receive a Pardon.

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In Florida, the following will earn you a felony (don't know about other States);

 

- Third DUI conviction is a felony. Get that 3rd DUI with a gun in the glove box, it's a felony with a firearm.

- Carrying a firearm into a hospital that has "mental care" facilities in it. Actually, having it on the hospital property is a felony but Florida has provisions in the law that allows you to have it in your vehicle as long as it is securely encased. IE, glovebox, zippered case, etc.

- Possession of a firearm on school property. A friend of mine got caught in this dilemma. He was pulled over for a traffic violation and pulled into Clearwater High parking lot. This parking lot runs about a 150 yard length along a State road that he was pulled over on. At that time, there wasn't any driveway type entrance to the parking lot, it just sloped down to the road. He beat it in court but it costs him a couple of grand to do it.

- Possession of certain types of undersized fish, lobster and game.

 

- Many, many more also. The ones listed above are just a few.

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Taking an opposite tack; I grew up around a lot of dysfunctional people. I recall guys joking about how their BS couldn’t follow them into adulthood because of the laws regarding closed juvenile records. Some of those people remained the scum that they were.
I would bet that many adults that are felonious were felonious as juveniles. 

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2 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Taking an opposite tack; I grew up around a lot of dysfunctional people. I recall guys joking about how their BS couldn’t follow them into adulthood because of the laws regarding closed juvenile records. Some of those people remained the scum that they were.
I would bet that many adults that are felonious were felonious as juveniles. 

I'd bet there are equal amounts that wasn't.

3 hours ago, Buckshot Bear said:

 

Out of interest what would be an easy way to get a felony that would surprise folks?

I don't think I need to add any more to the comments already given.

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A gun store owner told me a story.  A male buyer had failed the background check in NH because he had been convicted in CA of beating up his male roommate which in NH is domestic violence and in NH is a felony.  In CA it was only domestic violence if they were gay.  He had his brother copy that page of the CA law books and sent that page to the NH State Police and he was allowed to buy guns in NH. He also sent court transcripts to show that no evidence was presented that a gay relationship existed.

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5 hours ago, Slapshot said:

I'd bet there are equal amounts that wasn't.

Out of the people I knew…I would say 60/40. The 40% went on to be productive. 
 

Now that I think about it, nearly all the major infractions of the 40% involved marijuana. I have always thought marijuana violations should be misdemeanors. And this was in Pennsylvania, the land of taxes and regulations. 
 

State laws play a huge part in what merits a felony. What might be a felony in PA plight mot in another state. 
Hell, here in PRC you can damn near get away with murder if you’re an anarchist, gay minority with a disability. 

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12 hours ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

Many states, mine included, have a procedure for restoration of gun rights. If the felony was violent against a person, restoration is unlikely.

Ohio has this as well!

 

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A gun rights lawyer knows that losing your gun rights can be both frustrating and scary. After all, the Second Amendment is an important part of protecting yourself, your family, and your home. So if you’ve had your gun rights taken away from you, it’s important to know about gun rights restoration.

Restoring gun rights is a process. Gun rights do not simply come back after a certain time period or after a jail term is served. You and your gun rights lawyer must petition to have your gun rights restored and, depending on why your gun rights were taken to begin with, there might be other factors to consider (such as having to wait for extended periods of time before you’re eligible for restoration of your gun rights, fines, etc). 

To increase your chances of a successful outcome, everything needs to be 100% in order before you can legally bear arms again. That’s where a gun rights lawyer comes in handy. 

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12 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

I think a felon can own and use some black powder muzzle stuffers.

In very few states.

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My brother in law had his record expunged. He's now amassing a very nice gun collection. He has the family curse of alcohol issues. Proud of him for rising out of it, even if it did take too many years.

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2 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:



Hell, here in PRC you can damn near get away with murder if you’re an anarchist, gay minority with a disability. 

 

Heck thats everywhere in the US now days.

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12 hours ago, DeaconKC said:

Repeated DUIs, bad checks, are probably the most common. Another thing that bit thousands of people was the Clinton Era expansion to include misdemeanor Domestic Battery convictions. What was brutal was there were many cases where it used to be common in divorce cases that a woman would accuse the husband of abuse to improve her leverage. Many men took a misdemeanor conviction and thought nothing of it until 1995 when this new ruling came down. All of a sudden thousands of men across the country lost their right to own or carry guns on their job, thereby losing their jobs and the woman her alimony support. And, just to be fair, many were guilty of abuse and just argued it down to a misdemeanor.

That happened  to a friend of mine , to my knowledge he never touched his X . When she filed charges against him he was advised by his lawyer to take the misdemeanor because of what it would cost to fight . 

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16 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

In Florida, the following will earn you a felony (don't know about other States);

- Possession of a firearm on school property. A friend of mine got caught in this dilemma. He was pulled over for a traffic violation and pulled into Clearwater High parking lot. 

 

He beat it in court but it costs him a couple of grand to do it.

 

He should or should have looked into malicious prosecution and if he was actually arrested then also false arrest lawsuits. As an LEO I hate to see that happen, but this is wrong all day long and I am more supportive of my 2A rights than I am of my employment. You need to have intent to commit a crime. There was no intent here he was following a lawful order to stop.

 

As for the OP's post...In Florida a convicted felon has to petition the Florida Department of Clemency for a review. The request goes to an investigator to look into the subject and their actions since the felony conviction. If they fit certain guidelines, have kept a clean record, and their known victims have no objections then the review board will hear the case. Sometimes they win sometimes they lose. Some are conditional like they can get the right back to vote, but not own a firearm. I have two letters informing me of "Offender Reviews" on my desk right now from the Clemency Investigator on two different subjects that I arrested 18+ years ago. They ask whether I Do/Do Not oppose the review. In both of these cases I am opposing. They both resisted arrest with violence. One of them, who was a female boxer, feigned cooperation and then when my partner let her hand go so she could be cuffed she sucker punched me in the mouth causing me to need 13 stitches. All because she did not want her boyfriend, who had an ROR (zero dollar) misdemeanor warrant, getting arrested and she interfered.     

 

JEL

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1 hour ago, John E. Law said:

He should or should have looked into malicious prosecution and if he was actually arrested then also false arrest lawsuits. As an LEO I hate to see that happen, but this is wrong all day long and I am more supportive of my 2A rights than I am of my employment. You need to have intent to commit a crime. There was no intent here he was following a lawful order to stop    

 

JEL

 

Yeah, he should have, but as it was...he didn't. Luckily, he beat it in court so he didn't get the felon tag hung on him. Just cost him 2+ grand which was a lot of money back then, still is to some extent.

 

Next time I see you, I'll tell you in a little more detail.

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25 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

Yeah, he should have, but as it was...he didn't. Luckily, he beat it in court so he didn't get the felon tag hung on him. Just cost him 2+ grand which was a lot of money back then, still is to some extent.

 

Next time I see you, I'll tell you in a little more detail.

I Look forward to it. I'll be shooting WAC in July.

 

JEL

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2 hours ago, John E. Law said:

He should or should have looked into malicious prosecution and if he was actually arrested then also false arrest lawsuits. As an LEO I hate to see that happen, but this is wrong all day long and I am more supportive of my 2A rights than I am of my employment. You need to have intent to commit a crime. There was no intent here he was following a lawful order to stop.

 

As for the OP's post...In Florida a convicted felon has to petition the Florida Department of Clemency for a review. The request goes to an investigator to look into the subject and their actions since the felony conviction. If they fit certain guidelines, have kept a clean record, and their known victims have no objections then the review board will hear the case. Sometimes they win sometimes they lose. Some are conditional like they can get the right back to vote, but not own a firearm. I have two letters informing me of "Offender Reviews" on my desk right now from the Clemency Investigator on two different subjects that I arrested 18+ years ago. They ask whether I Do/Do Not oppose the review. In both of these cases I am opposing. They both resisted arrest with violence. One of them, who was a female boxer, feigned cooperation and then when my partner let her hand go so she could be cuffed she sucker punched me in the mouth causing me to need 13 stitches. All because she did not want her boyfriend, who had an ROR (zero dollar) misdemeanor warrant, getting arrested and she interfered.     

 

JEL

Seems to me he would have been with in the law to drive to somewhere other than the school before stopping. 

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