Re: Restoring Gun Rights Washington State

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On 5/16/08, kevinls wrote:
> 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.

It is my understanding (could be wrong) that unless a felony or DV
conviction is overturned through appeal or habeas by a court of competent
jurisdiction the NCIC/NICBC will not remove or expunge it from their
records even if the state does. If it is removed by statutory right after
a certain length of time you will still be denied by the feds.