Gun Rights Restoration

Do you need representation by an Alabama gun rights restoration lawyer? If your pistol permit or gun purchase in Alabama has recently been denied, please read the following information.

Warning: Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence regarding Alabama and Federal Gun Prohibitions. Gun restoration remedies for Alabama state court convictions.

Anyone who has been convicted in any court of a qualifying Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence (including, but not limited to, Domestic Violence, 3rd degree in Alabama) generally is prohibited for life in the State of Alabama from owning or possessing any firearm (See: 13A-11-72(a), Code of Ala.). Currently, violations of this offense are punishable as a Class C Felony in Alabama (See: 13A-11-84(a), Code of Ala.).

Additionally, the same persons are also generally prohibited for life under Federal law from possessing any firearm or ammunition in interstate or affecting commerce shipping or transporting any firearm or ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce, or receiving any such firearm or ammunition. Violation of this Federal law prohibition is a federal criminal offense punishable by up to ten (10) years imprisonment (See: 18 USC 922(g)(9) (the Lautenberg Amendment); 18 USC 921(a)(33), 924(a)(2), 925(a)(1), 27 CFR 478.11,478.32).

**REMEDIES FROM FIREARM PROHIBITION** – KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: Defenses and Exceptions – A person has NOT been convicted of a qualifying Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence IF:

1) The person was not represented by counsel – unless he or she knowingly and intelligently waived the right to be represented by counsel, or

2) The person was entitled to a jury trial AND the case was not tried by a jury – unless the person knowingly and intelligently waived the right to trial by jury, or

3) The conviction was set aside or EXPUNGED; the person was PARDONED; or, the person’s civil rights were restored (if the law of the jurisdiction provides for the for the loss of civil rights under such an offense).

CAUTION: This exception does not lift the Federal firearms prohibition if - the expungement, pardon, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms; or the person is otherwise prohibited under the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held from receiving or possessing any firearms.

Under current Alabama law, "An expungement order shall not entitle an individual to ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm. Any person whose record of conviction is expunged pursuant to this chapter may have his or her right to ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm restored by a Certificate of Pardon with Restoration of Civil and Political Rights from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles."Ala. Code § 15-27-15 (1975) Therefore, if a person is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm due to a conviction in Alabama, an expungement will not restore the person's firearm rights. A full pardon from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles from an Alabama conviction would be the proper remedy for firearm rights restoration. The exception to this is a Municipal Court Domestic Violence, 3rd-degree misdemeanor conviction in Alabama, that was not appealed to the Circuit Court of the county, which would require a Mayor Pardon from that city mayor per Alabama law.

At the time of this writing (October 2016) a Full Pardon with no limitations granted by the Board of Pardons and Paroles in Alabama from an Alabama felony or domestic violence misdemeanor in a state court has the effect of removing this gun prohibition ground and restoring the persons gun rights under Alabama and Federal law. (This assumes the felony or domestic violence misdemeanor conviction is the only firearm prohibition ground that is disabling the person’s gun rights under state and/or federal law). We provide legal representation throughout the entire pardon process throughout Alabama.

Several Alabama gun laws were amended by the Alabama legislature recently and now we are seeing a spike in the number of Alabama citizens who are being denied a pistol permit or renewal of their pistol permit by their county sheriff. In many instances the person may have had an old conviction that was charged as “Harassment” or “Reckless Endangerment” however the accuser in the case may have been in a “domestic relationship” to the defendant. In these cases, current law may consider this a “domestic violence crime”. And if you were a defendant in this type of case in Alabama and pleaded guilty or were found guilty, your best remedy currently under Alabama law may be the pursuit of a pardon by the proper jurisdiction.

Keep in mind, the term “domestic violence” may not have been used in the charging instrument in your case, but you may legally still be considered to have been convicted of a “domestic violence” misdemeanor.  According to current Federal law – a qualifying “Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence” is any offense that:

1) Is a Federal, State, Tribal, or territorial offense that is a misdemeanor under Federal, State, or Tribal law, and

2) Has the element of the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon; and

3) At the time of the offense, the defendant was either:

-A current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim;

-A person with whom the victim shared a child in common;

-A person who was cohabiting with or had cohabited with the victim as a spouse, parent, guardian, or

-A person who was or had been similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim.

Have you been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor in Alabama (aka domestic violence, 3rd degree)? Are you interested in pursuing your options to remedy and restore your gun rights under Alabama and Federal law?

Alabama Gun Rights Restoration Lawyer, Jordan M. Copeland provides statewide representation for Alabama citizens seeking to restore their gun rights. Contact our office by phone at 205-924-3839 or 251-545-3637 or emailJordan@ExpungementAlabamaLawyer.com to schedule an in-person or telephone consultation regarding your situation.

Alabama Bar Rules require the following: “No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of the legal services to be performed by other lawyers.”