If you have a felony conviction, the new gun law landscape for felons still starts and ends with the same rule: federal law makes it a crime for you to possess a firearm or ammunition, and that ban remains fully enforceable. Two recent Supreme Court decisions — Bruen in 2022 and Rahimi in 2024 — have opened the door to constitutional challenges and produced a patchwork of lower-court rulings, but the statute itself has not been struck down. Most people convicted of a felony cannot legally own a gun anywhere in the United States today.
What the Federal Ban Actually Covers
The core statute is 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), part of the Gun Control Act of 1968. It makes it a federal crime for anyone convicted of an offense punishable by more than one year in prison to possess a firearm or ammunition.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
The word “punishable” matters. What triggers the ban is not how long you actually served, but the maximum sentence the offense could have carried. If you got probation for a felony that theoretically carried a two-year term, you are still federally prohibited. People whose actual punishment felt minor are often surprised to learn the ban applies to them.
Section 922(g) reaches further than felonies. Federal law also prohibits firearm possession by anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under the Lautenberg Amendment. A guilty plea, a no-contest plea, or a probation sentence for a qualifying domestic violence offense triggers a lifetime federal firearms ban. Other prohibited categories include fugitives from justice, unlawful users of controlled substances, people adjudicated as mentally defective, people subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders, and people who have renounced U.S. citizenship.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
How Bruen and Rahimi Changed the Legal Ground
In June 2022, the Supreme Court decided New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, rejecting the balancing test lower courts had used for a decade. Under the new standard, when the Second Amendment’s text covers someone’s conduct, the government must show the challenged regulation is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Whether a law is a good idea is no longer the question.2Supreme Court of the United States. New York State Rifle and Pistol Assn Inc v Bruen
In 2024, United States v. Rahimi refined that test. Some lower courts had read Bruen to require a near-exact historical match for any modern gun law. Rahimi rejected that reading, holding that a modern regulation does not need a “historical twin” — it needs to be “relevantly similar” to historical laws and consistent with the principles underlying the regulatory tradition.3Supreme Court of the United States. United States v Rahimi
The Rahimi Court also reaffirmed earlier language describing prohibitions on firearm possession by felons as “presumptively lawful.” That is not a final ruling on every felon-in-possession law, but it signals the Court views these restrictions as standing on relatively firm ground.3Supreme Court of the United States. United States v Rahimi
Lower federal courts have split on how these rulings apply to § 922(g)(1). Some have found the ban unconstitutional as applied to individuals whose only disqualifying conviction was a minor, nonviolent offense. Others have upheld it across the board. After Rahimi, several circuits have read the decision as reinforcing rather than undermining the felon-in-possession ban. The practical result: most federal courts continue to enforce § 922(g)(1), and the statute remains in effect everywhere unless the Supreme Court rules on it directly.
Penalties If You Are Caught
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 raised the maximum federal penalty for violating § 922(g) from 10 years to 15 years in prison. Fines can reach $250,000.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 3571 – Sentence of Fine
For anyone with three or more prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses, the Armed Career Criminal Act imposes a mandatory minimum of 15 years in federal prison. Federal sentences carry no parole, so that minimum is actual time served. State charges can stack on top of federal charges and vary widely in severity.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
Constructive Possession: The Risk That Catches People
You do not have to be holding a gun to be charged with possessing one. Under the doctrine of constructive possession, a person with a felony conviction can face federal charges if they knew a firearm was present and had the ability to access it. You never have to touch the weapon.
Prosecutors must prove two things: that you knew the firearm was there, and that you had the ability to exercise control over it. In practice, this puts anyone living with a spouse or family member who legally owns firearms in a precarious position. A gun stored in a shared bedroom or an unlocked closet may be enough for federal agents to argue you had access. Multiple people can constructively possess the same firearm at the same time.
Courts have been clear that mere proximity is not enough by itself. Still, the line between being near a gun and having access to one is thin, and charges do get filed. Storing firearms in a locked safe to which the prohibited person has no key or combination is the strongest practical safeguard, though even that arrangement has been challenged by prosecutors arguing the person “could have” obtained access.
The Antique Firearm Exception
Federal law defines “firearm” in a way that excludes antique firearms. An antique firearm means any firearm manufactured in or before 1898, certain replicas that cannot fire modern ammunition, and muzzle-loading weapons designed for black powder that cannot be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 921 – Definitions
Because these weapons fall outside the federal definition of “firearm,” § 922(g) does not apply to them. Under federal law, a person with a felony conviction can legally possess a pre-1899 revolver or a traditional muzzle-loader. State laws do not uniformly follow this exception, however. Some mirror the federal approach, while others impose their own restrictions or define antique weapons differently. Verify your state’s rules before acquiring anything on this basis.
State Laws Add Their Own Restrictions
Nearly every state has its own laws restricting firearm possession by people with felony convictions, and they operate independently of federal law. Winning a federal constitutional challenge does not make possession legal under state law. Someone could get § 922(g)(1) declared unconstitutional as applied to them in federal court and still face state felony charges for the same firearm.
State laws are also being challenged under the Bruen standard with inconsistent results. Some states impose broader restrictions than federal law, prohibiting possession for certain serious misdemeanors beyond domestic violence or extending the ban to stun guns and other weapons that fall outside the federal firearm definition.
Restoring Firearm Rights
Separate from constitutional challenges, established legal pathways exist to restore firearm rights after a felony conviction. None are automatic.
- A presidential pardon for federal convictions, or a governor’s pardon for state convictions, can restore the right to possess firearms. Not all pardons include firearm rights; the terms of the pardon control.
- Expungement or record sealing under state law may remove the underlying disability. Rules vary significantly by jurisdiction, and not all states allow expungement of felonies.
- Some states allow a person to petition a court directly for restoration of firearm rights, typically after demonstrating rehabilitation and a clean record over a set number of years.
The Federal Relief Process Is Effectively Closed
Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) allows an individual to apply to the Attorney General for relief from federal firearms disabilities. If the applicant shows they are not a danger to public safety and that restoration would not be contrary to the public interest, the Attorney General has authority to grant relief.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 925 – Exceptions Relief From Disabilities
The catch: Congress has blocked funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to process individual applications under this provision every year since 1993. The fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill continues that prohibition, explicitly barring the use of ATF funds to investigate or act on individual § 925(c) applications.8Senate Appropriations Committee. FY26 CJS EWD and INT Consolidated Bill Text
The Department of Justice has indicated it is developing a web-based application system for § 925(c) relief, but until Congress appropriates money for the ATF to review those applications, the federal pathway remains effectively closed for individuals. If the Attorney General denies a § 925(c) application, the statute allows judicial review in federal district court, but the funding barrier keeps most individuals from ever reaching that stage. State-level restoration processes and pardons remain the only realistic options for most people seeking to regain firearm rights after a felony conviction.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 925 – Exceptions Relief From Disabilities