How to Get Your Gun Rights Back in Nevada
Not many people realize that when you are convicted of a crime there may be other penalties that you may not think of besides the prison sentence or fines that you were already aware of.
In most states including Nevada, if you are convicted of a felony or for a crime of misdemeanor domestic violence, you will be prohibited from owning a firearm in Nevada. If you are a convicted felon and caught with a firearm you may face up to six years in prison.
Other penalties like the ability to vote can also be impacted by a conviction.
Getting these rights restored can be a long and difficult process.
Even if you do everything right, you may not get your rights restored.
The only way to get your gun rights back in Nevada is to receive a pardon from the Nevada Board Of Pardons Commissioners.
The board includes the Governor of Nevada, The justices of the Nevada Supreme Court and The Attorney General of Nevada.
Each year, the board is inundated with pardon applications, but they are rarely granted. Out of every 1000 applications, only a mere 2% (or 20) will be granted a hearing before the board. However, if you do manage to secure a hearing, your chances of receiving a pardon increase to 50%.
A pardon does not absolve you of the crime for which you were convicted but can help restore some of the rights that were taken away.
The application to the Board Of Pardons is the most important part of the process since it can determine if you receive a hearing or not.
You need an experienced law firm to help you craft a compelling pardon application that could lead to a hearing to restore your gun rights.
Who Can Have Their Gun Rights Restored
In Nevada, the only people who are eligible for the restoration of gun rights are people that were convicted of a crime in Nevada.
The Board of Pardons Commissioners does not have the right to restore the rights of federal convictions or convictions from another state.
If you were convicted of a crime in another state but does not reside in Nevada, you will need to obtain a pardon from that state’s pardon commission or governor.
Pardons for federal crimes can only be granted by the President of The United States with a petition to The United States Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney.
Petitions for pardons are usually issued at the end of the President’s term in office. The Governor of a state may do the same and issue pardons at the end of their term.
To be eligible for a pardon in Nevada, your sentence or punishment must have ended for the crime you are seeking a pardon from.
This includes any parole or other supervision. You are not eligible to have your gun rights restored if:
- You are still on parole or
- You are legally required to register as a sex offender
How Soon Can I Apply to Restore My Gun Rights in Nevada
Like getting a record from a crime sealed or expunged, there is a waiting period to apply to have your gun rights restored.
After you have been fully released from the justice system including any supervision there is a waiting period based on the crime that you were convicted of.
Applying immediately after the waiting period is over is not the best idea. The Board of Pardons will usually reject the application unless a significant amount of time has passed since your conviction.
The earliest you may apply for a Pardon in Nevada is dependent on the conviction.
Read more about the waiting period before applying for a pardon here.
Do All Pardons Restore Gun Rights
A pardon is the written forgiveness for a crime but it does not erase your record.
After a specific waiting period, it is possible to apply for the sealing of your criminal record. However, it is important to note that in certain cases, having any other criminal charges or pending charges may disqualify you from being eligible for record sealing.
But having a record sealed does not restore your gun rights.
A pardon can restore the civil rights you lost because of a criminal conviction including the second amendment right to own a firearm.
Not all pardon applications restore gun rights.
Your pardon must specify that it is a full and unconditional pardon, or it must specify that your gun rights have been restored.
The application for a pardon requires that you request to have your gun rights restored.
Failing to request a restoration of your gun rights, the board will not consider this in your application.
If you do request a firearm restoration, the board is not required to consider it and the decision is completely up to the board.
Will Other States Recognize My Gun Rights Restoration in Nevada
Each state has its own laws about guns, some stricter than others.
Usually other states honor each other pardon’s but they are not obligated to.
If you move to another state you may want to seek counsel in that state instead of relying on the pardon you received from Nevada.
Once your gun rights are restored in Nevada you can no longer be convicted of unlawfully possessing a firearm under federal law.
Who Is Prohibited From Owning a Firearm
In Nevada there are groups of people who will be prohibited from owning a firearm or having control of a firearm in Nevada:
- Anyone convicted of Misdemeanor of Domestic Violence
- Anyone Convicted of Stalking
- Anyone convicted of a felony in the U.S , unless they received a pardon and gun rights were restored
- Anyone subjected to a domestic violence protection order, and the order prohibits the person from owning a firearm
- Fugitives from justice
- Drug addicted persons or person who use illegal controlled substances
- Anyone prohibited from owning a firearm by federal law. This includes people who were dishonorably discharged from the armed forces as well as people who renounce American Citizenship
- Anyone considered mentally ill or committed to a mental health facility by a court in the U.S
- Defendants who use mental illness as defense against a crime and plead guilty
- Defendants found guilty but mentally ill
- Defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity
- Undocumented aliens
Lawful gun owners may be prohibited from carrying guns in certain locations like schools and child care facilities.
Your Restoration of Rights Attorney
All people make mistakes.
Most people are not lifelong criminals and maybe made one bad decision one time.
You have already paid for your crime by doing jail or prison time, maybe paid some fines and were on probation.
Now you want to put the bad decisions behind you and move on with your life.
That can include restoring some rights that have been taken due to your criminal activity.
You may want to get your record sealed or expunged.
You’ll need a legal professional to guide you and help with the application and court proceedings to have your rights restored.
Contact our team when you are ready to have your gun rights restored.
The Defenders is a team of experienced attorneys who have the knowledge and expertise to help you with your gun rights restoration case.
The Defenders will work hard to ensure that your application is thorough, accurate and complete to show the board that you are an upstanding citizen.
Don’t wait any longer to get your gun rights back.
Call The Defenders and speak with one of our experienced attorneys about how to start the process of restoring your gun rights today.
