Re: Restoring Gun Rights Washington State

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On 2/14/08, -- wrote:
> On 2/14/08, Paul T. Ferris wrote:
>> On 1/28/08, -- wrote:
>>>> "A simple pardon won't work --
>>>>> it has to specifically state that all your civil rights
>>>>> including gun rights have been restored."
>>>>
>> A PARDON WILL REMOVE A FIREARM DISABILITY IF BASED UPON
>> REHABILITATION OR INNOCENCE AND HAS NO RESTRICTIONS ON
>> THE RIGHT TO POSSESS FIREARMS. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO
>> PROVIDE THAT YOUR GUN RIGHTS ARE RESTORED.
>
> Yes, Exactly -- it must state that gun rights are included within the
> scope of the pardon. If it does not refer in some way to the issue of
> gun rights then it will not be sufficient to remove the taint of the
> conviction in regard to gun rights. A simple pardon is not enough --
> it must be absolute.

My friend, as you may know by now, a domestic violence conviction will
bar you from possessing a firearm in Washington State. I have worked
with attorneys as a paralegal for 15 years, and have helped the attorney
to restore many peoples rights to own/possess a firearm. Of course, you
would have to vacate your conviction before you can expunge the
conviction data from your record, which you would need to do because if
you don't, it will still look like you have a conviction to the WSP and
FBI. So, you will probably need an attorney, unless you are very up on
legal research and know how to petition the court for vacation of
conviction and also petition for restoration of your firearm rights.
You will need to do both. Even if you do those, you will need to
expunge the conviction data, otherwise, you will have a hard time. Best
thing to do is get an attorney who has done this before, price should be
in the ball park of 1500 - 2500 barring no objections to your petitions
by prosecutor or local law enforcement, who you will need to notify and
serve your petitions. Good luck.