Firearms Possession Laws for Convicted Felons

If you are a convicted felon who has been charged with firearm possession violations, contact a criminal defense attorney as quickly as possible. For more information and a free consultation, please contact Jeff Hastings, experienced Cleveland Criminal Defense Attorney.

revolver-982973_1280There are specific laws that prohibit the ability of convicted felons to possess firearms. Ohio law refers to this as “Having a Weapon While Under Disability.”  The federal law refers to this as a “Felon in Possession.”

Ohio Firearm Possession Laws for Convicted Felons

While the state of Ohio allows most individuals to possess firearms, a person who has been convicted of a felony (in Ohio or elsewhere) no longer enjoys the same rights. Anyone convicted of a felony crime is also prohibited under Ohio law from possessing firearms. In fact, the Ohio firearms possession law is quite clear regarding felons, stating that: “The charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is classified as a felony of the third degree. This charge, if convicted, comes with a presumptive sentence of up to 5 years in prison and / or fines of up to $10,000.”

In addition to felons, according to ORC §2923.13, others are prohibited from acquiring, having, carrying, or using any firearm or dangerous ordinance, including when:

(1) The person is a fugitive from justice.

(2) The person is under indictment for or has been convicted of any felony offense of violence or has been adjudicated a delinquent child for the commission of an offense that, if committed by an adult, would have been a felony offense of violence.

(3) The person is under indictment for or has been convicted of any felony offense involving the illegal possession, use, sale, administration, distribution, or trafficking in any drug of abuse or has been adjudicated a delinquent child for the commission of an offense that, if committed by an adult, would have been a felony offense involving the illegal possession, use, sale, administration, distribution, or trafficking in any drug of abuse.

(4) The person is drug dependent, in danger of drug dependence, or a chronic alcoholic.

(5) The person is under adjudication of mental incompetence, has been adjudicated as a mental defective, has been committed to a mental institution, has been found by a court to be a mentally ill person subject to court order, or is an involuntary patient other than one who is a patient only for purposes of observation.

Federal Firearm Possession Laws for Convicted Felons

Federal law has prohibited any person convicted of a felony from purchasing or possessing virtually all types of firearm under the Gun Control Act of 1968, which was enacted in response to John F. Kennedy’s assassination. In 1993 the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act amended the Gun Control Act to require states to conduct background checks on individuals wishing to purchase firearms. It is important to note that federal law also prohibits the possession of firearms by those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence.

Proving Felon in Possession of a Firearm Charges

It is relatively easy for law enforcement to prove a felon in possession charge.  They only need to demonstrate that the individual is a convicted felon and that he was knowingly in possession of an operable firearm.  It is crucial for those with a felony conviction to be aware of their responsibilities under the law.  An experienced criminal defense attorney may be instrumental in preventing law enforcement from presenting a strong enough case.

Restoring Firearm Possession Rights

While an expungement of your record as a convicted felon may be complicated, the only other way in Ohio to restore your right to possess firearms is to submit a direct petition to the state under Ohio Revised Code § 2923.14. Anyone convicted of a federal offense may apply for a presidential pardon. Federal regulations (28 CFR § 1.1-1.10) specify the rules governing petitions for obtaining such pardons.

Felon in possession laws were designed with the safety of the public in mind, in order to keep firearms and other ordinances away from presumably dangerous people. Unfortunately, the laws differ from state to state, and in many cases, someone who was convicted decades ago is still unable to own a firearm even for hunting purposes. To make matters worse, state and federal laws may overlap.

If you are a convicted felon who has been charged with firearm possession violations, contact a criminal defense attorney as quickly as possible. For more information and a free consultation, please contact Jeff Hastings, experienced Cleveland Criminal Defense Attorney.

Don’t Rely on the Second Amendment to Protect You in Ohio

While the Second Amendment gives Americans the right to “keep and bear arms,” there are a number of Ohio laws that limit those rights depending on the firearm, how it is used, and who is using it.

13490669819fhx0While the Second Amendment gives Americans the right to “keep and bear arms,” there are a number of Ohio laws that limit those rights depending on the firearm, how it is used, and who is using it. Not understanding Ohio firearm laws can result in you being charged with misdemeanor or felony weapon offenses. Being found guilty of a firearm violation will lead to costly fines and often jail time. Once convicted of a weapon or firearm violation, you will be unable to legally own a gun in the future.

Exceptions to Firearm and Weapons Laws

There are exceptions to the firearm and weapon laws in Ohio in which you may not be charged for having or firing a weapon. This can include self-defense, under the Ohio Castle Doctrine. You may also be within your legal right to possess or discharge a firearm if you have a concealed weapon permit. Other defenses can come into play if you are charged with a weapon violation in Ohio. An experienced Ohio defense attorney will be able to help you plan your defense strategy. Successful defenses may include:

  • Self-defense
  • Defense of property
  • Defense of others

In addition, an experienced defense attorney will recognize issues with your case that could allow you to argue any of the following defenses, which may result in charges being reduced or dropped:

  • False accusation
  • Illegal search
  • Legal definition of weapon
  • Unknown possession
  • Permit to carry

There are a number of weapon charges that can be levied against the Ohio citizen who violates the firearms statute, including:

  • Carrying a concealed weapon without a permit
  • Possession of a firearm in an establishment that sells alcohol
  • Possession of a firearm or weapon within a school safety zone
  • Possession of a firearm inside a courthouse
  • Possession of a firearm when already convicted and disallowed weapon possession
  • Possession of a weapon while in jail or prison
  • Using weapons while intoxicated
  • Improper handling of a weapon in a vehicle
  • Discharging a weapon in or near a school
  • Illegal possession of an explosive
  • Illegal manufacture of an explosive
  • Failure to secure explosives
  • Failure to report theft of firearms
  • Possession of a defaced firearm
  • Furnishing a firearm to a minor
  • Underage purchase of a firearm
  • Possession of criminal tools

If you are being charged with a weapon violation, you need an experienced Ohio criminal defense attorney to help you navigate the criminal process. For more information and a free consultation, please contact Jeff Hastings, experienced Cleveland Criminal Defense Attorney.

Ohio’s Definition of Weapons and Firearms

As used in sections 2923.11 to 2923.24 of the Revised Code:

(A) “Deadly weapon” means any instrument, device, or thing capable of inflicting death, and designed or specially adapted for use as a weapon, or possessed, carried, or used as a weapon.

(B)

(1) “Firearm” means any deadly weapon capable of expelling or propelling one or more projectiles by the action of an explosive or combustible propellant. “Firearm” includes an unloaded firearm, and any firearm that is inoperable but that can readily be rendered operable.

(2) When determining whether a firearm is capable of expelling or propelling one or more projectiles by the action of an explosive or combustible propellant, the trier of fact may rely upon circumstantial evidence, including, but not limited to, the representations and actions of the individual exercising control over the firearm.

(C) “Handgun” means any of the following:

(1) Any firearm that has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand;

(2) Any combination of parts from which a firearm of a type described in division (C)(1) of this section can be assembled.

(D) “Semi-automatic firearm” means any firearm designed or specially adapted to fire a single cartridge and automatically chamber a succeeding cartridge ready to fire, with a single function of the trigger.

(E) “Automatic firearm” means any firearm designed or specially adapted to fire a succession of cartridges with a single function of the trigger.

(F) “Sawed-off firearm” means a shotgun with a barrel less than eighteen inches long, or a rifle with a barrel less than sixteen inches long, or a shotgun or rifle less than twenty-six inches long overall.

(G) “Zip-gun” means any of the following:

(1) Any firearm of crude and extemporized manufacture;

(2) Any device, including without limitation a starter’s pistol that is not designed as a firearm, but that is specially adapted for use as a firearm;

(3) Any industrial tool, signaling device, or safety device, that is not designed as a firearm, but that as designed is capable of use as such, when possessed, carried, or used as a firearm.

(H) “Explosive device” means any device designed or specially adapted to cause physical harm to persons or property by means of an explosion, and consisting of an explosive substance or agency and a means to detonate it. “Explosive device” includes without limitation any bomb, any explosive demolition device, any blasting cap or detonator containing an explosive charge, and any pressure vessel that has been knowingly tampered with or arranged so as to explode.

(I) “Incendiary device” means any firebomb, and any device designed or specially adapted to cause physical harm to persons or property by means of fire, and consisting of an incendiary substance or agency and a means to ignite it.

(J) “Ballistic knife” means a knife with a detachable blade that is propelled by a spring-operated mechanism.

(K) “Dangerous ordnance” means any of the following, except as provided in division (L) of this section:

(1) Any automatic or sawed-off firearm, zip-gun, or ballistic knife;

(2) Any explosive device or incendiary device;

(3) Nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose, nitrostarch, PETN, cyclonite, TNT, picric acid, and other high explosives; amatol, tritonal, tetrytol, pentolite, pecretol, cyclotol, and other high explosive compositions; plastic explosives; dynamite, blasting gelatin, gelatin dynamite, sensitized ammonium nitrate, liquid-oxygen blasting explosives, blasting powder, and other blasting agents; and any other explosive substance having sufficient brisance or power to be particularly suitable for use as a military explosive, or for use in mining, quarrying, excavating, or demolitions;

(4) Any firearm, rocket launcher, mortar, artillery piece, grenade, mine, bomb, torpedo, or similar weapon, designed and manufactured for military purposes, and the ammunition for that weapon;

(5) Any firearm muffler or suppressor;

(6) Any combination of parts that is intended by the owner for use in converting any firearm or other device into a dangerous ordnance.

(L) “Dangerous ordnance” does not include any of the following:

(1) Any firearm, including a military weapon and the ammunition for that weapon, and regardless of its actual age, that employs a percussion cap or other obsolete ignition system, or that is designed and safe for use only with black powder;

(2) Any pistol, rifle, or shotgun, designed or suitable for sporting purposes, including a military weapon as issued or as modified, and the ammunition for that weapon, unless the firearm is an automatic or sawed-off firearm;

(3) Any cannon or other artillery piece that, regardless of its actual age, is of a type in accepted use prior to 1887, has no mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or other system for absorbing recoil and returning the tube into battery without displacing the carriage, and is designed and safe for use only with black powder;

(4) Black powder, priming quills, and percussion caps possessed and lawfully used to fire a cannon of a type defined in division (L)(3) of this section during displays, celebrations, organized matches or shoots, and target practice, and smokeless and black powder, primers, and percussion caps possessed and lawfully used as a propellant or ignition device in small-arms or small-arms ammunition;

(5) Dangerous ordnance that is inoperable or inert and cannot readily be rendered operable or activated, and that is kept as a trophy, souvenir, curio, or museum piece.

(6) Any device that is expressly excepted from the definition of a destructive device pursuant to the “Gun Control Act of 1968,” 82 Stat. 1213, 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(4), as amended, and regulations issued under that act.

(M) “Explosive” means any chemical compound, mixture, or device, the primary or common purpose of which is to function by explosion [except fireworks]. “Explosive” includes all materials that have been classified as division 1.1, division 1.2, division 1.3, or division 1.4 explosives by the United States department of transportation in its regulations and includes, but is not limited to, dynamite, black powder, pellet powders, initiating explosives, blasting caps, electric blasting caps, safety fuses, fuse igniters, squibs, cordeau detonant fuses, instantaneous fuses, and igniter cords and igniters.

Self-Defense and the Ohio Castle Doctrine

The Castle Doctrine is intended to protect homeowners from being threatened inside their own homes, but it is complicated. If you’re claiming self-defense, you need an experienced attorney at your side.

BurglarWhen do you have the right to use deadly force in self-defense? When will the law work with you, rather than against you, in the face of threat? In Ohio, the ability to use deadly force for self-defense – and not go to jail for manslaughter or murder – must meet certain standards.

Duty to Retreat

If you are in public, on a street or in a public place, and you face a physical threat, you have what’s called a “duty to retreat” – in other words, rather than face the threat, you are required by law to do your best to escape from the threat by leaving, running away, or getting help from a peace officer. Only when the use of force is your only alternative will self-defense be found legitimate by a jury. Currently, the law in Ohio requires a defendant asserting self-defense to prove three things by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not):

(1)   That the defendant was not at fault in creating the situation giving rise to the “affray.”

(2)   That the defendant “had a bona fide belief that he was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and the only means to escape such danger was in the use of such force.”

(3)   That the defendant “did not violate any duty to retreat or avoid the danger” as discussed above.

The Castle Doctrine

While you have a duty to retreat when threatened in public, Ohio is a “stand your ground” state when it comes to being threatened in your own home. You do not have to retreat if an intruder enters your home and threatens you or your family.

And intruders are the clearest cases where the Castle Doctrine applies and your argument of self-defense will not be questioned when someone breaks into your home and threatens your safety or the safety of your family. At that point, you are within your rights to use deadly force to defend yourself and your family from the intruder.

In order to be protected by the Castle Doctrine, the intruder must actually be inside your home or attempting to enter (coming in/breaking through a door or window). If the intruder is simply peeking through a window and has not made an attempt to enter, you need to call 9-1-1 and request assistance from the police. For the Castle Doctrine to apply, you must actually believe that your life or the lives of your family members are in grave danger.

There are limits to the application of the Castle Doctrine.

Invited Guests

You will not be able to use self-defense against a threat from someone who has been invited to be in your home, even if it was someone else (a spouse or child) who invited the person in. There are, of course, extenuating circumstances where this would not apply and you would be allowed to use the self-defense argument, but it is rare.

Other Residents

You cannot claim self-defense against other residents of your home. For example, you cannot kick your adult child out of the home then shoot them when they try to come back in.

Departing Burglars

As much as you might think you have the right, if the burglar or intruder is leaving your home, you are no longer protected under the Castle Doctrine, because your life is no longer in imminent danger.

Delivery People

You cannot use self-defense against postal workers or FedEx drivers who have short-term rights to be on your property. You also cannot use self-defense if you’re not home and arrive to find someone breaking in. Then, you must call the police.

The only other time the Castle Doctrine applies is if you are in your car and must act in self-defense to preserve your life. The same elements apply: you must not have invited the person into the car with you, you must not be able to flee or retreat, and your life must actually be in danger.

The Castle Doctrine is intended to protect homeowners from being threatened inside their own homes, but it is complicated. If you are being charged with a crime and believe you acted in self-defense, you need an experienced Ohio criminal defense attorney to help you navigate the criminal process. For more information and a free consultation, please contact Jeff Hastings, experienced Cleveland Criminal Defense Attorney.