Lately I have received a number of questions relating to whether it is appropriate to return guns following a temporary firearms disqualification. The issue seems to arise most commonly when a domestic violence restraining order (“DVPO”) is issued under Chapter 50B of the North Carolina General Statutes, which requires the surrender of guns by a defendant in certain circumstances and allows the defendant to seek return of the guns following the expiration of the order and final disposition of any related criminal charges. See G.S. 50B-3.1. The issue of returning guns could pop up in other circumstances involving the seizure or surrender of guns. An interplay of state and federal law determines whether a person is disqualified from possessing firearms, temporarily or permanently, and some of the wrinkles are counterintuitive. This post examines some of the most common grounds for disqualification and discusses some limits of state authority in this area. It’s long, but I hope readers find it useful. Felony Convictions. Starting with perhaps the most common and most well-known disqualifier, state and federal law prohibit possession of firearms by a person previously convicted of a felony offense. 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) prohibits gun possession by a person convicted in any court of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment. All felony sentences in North Carolina now require a maximum term of at least 12 months, so all North Carolina felony convictions trigger the federal ban. See U.S. v. Barlow, 811 F.3d 133 (4th Cir. 2015). North Carolina’s [...]
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