On November 10, 2018 Thomas C. Gallagher, a Minneapolis Gun Crimes Defense Attorney, presented a gun law Continuing Legal Education course. He explained gun law to 50 of the best defense lawyers in Minnesota; the Minnesota Society for Criminal Justice. And the course took place at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis.

How to Restore Gun Rights After a Misdemeanor Domestic Crime Conviction in Minnesota
Attorney Thomas Gallagher covered: “How to Restore Gun Rights After a Misdemeanor Domestic Crime Conviction in Minnesota.“ And this gun law course included:
- Can I get my rights to firearms back after a conviction for a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence?”
- Felony vs Misdemeanor
- Violence Against Women Act, a/k/a the Lautenberg Amendment
- But, Federal gun law definition of “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence”
- And, 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; including where vindication of the right to counsel was lacking, or an less than adequate factual basis
- And, Minnesota’s three-year ban and automatic restoration
- So, the federal gun law respects states’ power to decide
- The federal law’s three pathways to full civil rights
- One: “expungement” or set aside of conviction
- Two: Pardon
- Three: Civil rights restoration (if the law of the jurisdiction provides)
- And, the best remedies for restoration of civil rights to firearms after a Minnesota misdemeanor domestic crime conviction

More on Gun Law
So, for an in-depth look at this topic, see Attorney Thomas Gallagher’s gun law articles:
- How to Restore Gun Rights After a Misdemeanor Domestic Crime Conviction in Minnesota.
- Felony doesn’t always impair Minnesota gun rights.
And if you are a lawyer, or a person with a question about guns and criminal law in Minnesota; call gun law Attorney Thomas Gallagher.