Federal Government to Review Gun Prohibitions for People with Stale Convictions
As we have previously covered, there are ongoing efforts to review gun prohibitions for certain individuals in light of recent Supreme Court decisions. Recently, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced an interim rule that would grant the Attorney General the right to restore gun rights to individuals who currently are prohibited from owning/possessing a firearm. The DOJ said the rule is in line with President Trump’s executive order directing a review of gun restrictions at the federal level and that this rule would, “[reflect] an appropriate avenue to restore firearm rights to certain individuals who no longer warrant such disability based on a combination of the nature of their past criminal activity and their subsequent and current law-abiding behavior.” This rule would allow the Attorney General to review the cases of individuals, but the DOJ has cautioned that “no constitutional right is limitless” and under the rule they would still review individual cases to ensure that they do not restore gun rights for individuals “for whom full restoration of firearm rights would not be appropriate.” Before this rule, only the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had the ability to restore gun rights to individuals, but had not been able to do so since 1992 given consistent congressional appropriations riders to the agency. Gun rights groups applauded the move, saying it would allow the restoration of Second Amendment rights for those who previously had an “unconstitutional de facto lifetime gun ban” that left them in a “legal limbo” said the senior vice president for Gun Owners of America. Recently it was reported that the DOJ sought to restore gun rights to actor Mel Gibson, who is currently prohibited from owning a gun due to a 2011 domestic violence misdemeanor conviction. Opponents of the rule warn that people with domestic violence convictions and other violent crimes are the exact type of person who should not have their gun rights restored, regardless of how long ago the conviction was and that “this dangerous development could put law enforcement and our communities at greater risk by opening the floodgates to violent criminals rearming themselves” as the president of Everytown for Gun Safety, John Feinblatt, said in a statement after the rule was announced. That being said, the mechanism to seek relief is to be determined as it is not yet clear how to apply for the assessment and what, if any, avenue for relief the rule creates. Anyone seeking to have their firearm rights restored should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney to seek guidance or assistance with this developing process.
