On November 10, 2018 Thomas C. Gallagher, a Minneapolis Gun Crimes Defense Attorney, presented a Continuing Legal Education course to about 50 of the best defense lawyers in Minnesota, the Minnesota Society for Criminal Justice at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Gallagher presents the law
The specific topic covered by Gallagher was “How to Restore Gun Rights After a Misdemeanor Domestic Crime Conviction in Minnesota,” including:
- Can my rights to firearms be restored after a conviction for a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence?”
- Felony vs Misdemeanor
- Violence Against Women Act, a/k/a the Lautenberg Amendment
- Federal definition of “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence”
- Federal definition is narrower than Minnesota’s definition in at least three ways
- One: Requires an element of physical force or a deadly weapon — lacking in most Minnesota cases
- Two: The federal relationship element is narrower than Minnesota’s relationship definition
- Three: The due process protection qualifiers exclude cases where the right to counsel was not vindicated, or an less than adequate factual basis
- Minnesota’s three-year ban and automatic restoration
- The federal law respects states’ power to decide
- The federal law’s three pathways to full civil rights
- One: Conviction has been expunged or set aside
- Two: Pardon
- Three: Civil rights restored (if the law of the applicable jurisdiction provides for the loss of civil rights under such an offense)
- The best remedies for restoration of civil rights to firearms after a Minnesota misdemeanor domestic crime conviction
For an in depth look at this topic, see Gallagher’s recent article: How to Restore Gun Rights After a Misdemeanor Domestic Crime Conviction in Minnesota.
If you are a lawyer, or a person with a question about guns and criminal law in Minnesota, you are invited to call Attorney Thomas Gallagher or leave a comment.
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