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Felony Conviction and Firearms Possession…

March 8, 2010 Legal Issues, State Firearms Laws No Comments

Question:  I was convicted of a felony in 1998.  Can I legally possess a firearm?

Answer: Since you didn’t tell me where you lived, I will have to assume that you are in Arizona.  Unless you have had your felony conviction set aside, you cannot legally possess a firearm.  Since it has been a very long time since you committed your felony, you may be able to petition the court to ‘set aside’ your conviction, expunge your record and restore your civil rights, including your right to own a firearm.  This is only possible if your felony was a ‘non-violent’ one.  If the crime you committed involved either serious injury or death or was sexual in nature (sexual assault, molestation, etc.) the court will generally not consider a request to have the conviction set aside.

In general, if this is something you would like to pursue, you should probably contact an attorney who could help you with this process.  It is also possible to petition the court directly, but you’d probably need someone to help you with this.  You could contact the Clerk of Court in the jurisdiction where you were convicted of your crime to find out how the process might work.

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