Re: Restoring Gun Rights Washington State

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Not all misdemeanor domestic violence convictions result in a firearm
disability under federal and state law. (Note "domestic violence" is not a
crime; rather, it is an additional descriptive (tag) for a crime, e.g.
assault, in which there is a particular relationship between the perpetrator
and the victim. For example, an offender convicted of criminal trespass -
domestic violence is not prohibited from possessing firearms under federal
law or state law. Additionally, a person convicted of reckless endangerment
- DV (after 7/1/1993) will be prohibited from possessing firearms under
Washington state law, but not under federal law. What constitutes a
domestic relationship under state law differs from that under federal law.

___________

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.

A pardon does NOT need to expressly state that it restores gun rights.
However, to be effective under federal law, it cannot have any restrictions
on gun rights. If the pardon says that it does not restore gun rights, or
even attempt to limit the individual's right to possess long guns, it will
be a total ban on all guns covered under the federal gun act.

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> 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.

Vacating a prohibitive conviction in WA state has nothing to do with gun
rights under state or federal law. There is no "expungement" (total
destruction) of conviction records in WA. Even if vacated, the subsequent
dismissal of the charge is considered an "adverse disposition" and WSP will
not expunge it. There is an exception: if a court does issue an order
expunging a conviction, WSP will (under "protest") comply with the order.

Restoring gun rights is a separate and distinct remedy. Moreover, the court
has no discretion when ruling on a petition; if the offender qualifies, the
court must grant the petiton. This is not to say that the court and
prosecutor will agree on whether a person qualifies.

Clarification on Misd DV Gun rights issue