How do I get my gun rights back in Wisconsin? A Wisconsin Gun Rights and Pardon Attorney Explains
If an old criminal conviction is holding you back from your firearm rights or gun rights, you may be wondering what you can do to restore your gun rights. Wisconsin does not make it easy. Where there are other states that have automatic processes, Wisconsin generally does not once you are convicted of a crime that takes away your gun rights. But depending on what is preventing you from having a gun, you may be able to pursue legal recourse to get your gun rights back. This blog article will focus on the two biggest categories of people who lose their firearm rights: (1) those with a felony a conviction; and (2) those convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
1. Felony Conviction
If you were convicted of a felony in Wisconsin, you lost your firearm rights. Unlike Minnesota where there is an automatic restoration process for certain crimes, Wisconsin does not do that. You are stuck without firearm rights until you do something about it. Thankfully, if the only things stopping you from having a gun are felony convictions, there is something you can do. You can seek a pardon. Many people think that they need an expungement, but it actually a pardon that you will need to get your gun rights back.
To do so you need to have been discharged from probation for at least five years, and you will also need to remain crime free during that time. If you are convicted of another crime during the waiting period, your waiting period will start over. There are various other restrictions, but the five year timing is usually the critical hurdle to get over in order to be eligible. Seeking an skilled attorney for this process is highly recommended. Although Wisconsin does not keep stats on this, studies from other jurisdictions suggest that the chances of success when seeking to clear your record goes from 13% if you are representing yourself, all the way up to 70% or higher for those who hire an attorney. You always have the right to represent yourself in legal proceedings if you want. But the numbers speak for themselves about what the difference between having an attorney and not having one are.
2. Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence
Many are surprised to find that a misdemeanor conviction can take away you gun rights. If your misdemeanor was considered a “crime of domestic violence” under federal law (18 U.S.C. 922 (g)(9)), then you will also have lost your gun rights. Even though your crime was charged in state court, federal law can still be used to restrict firearm rights. The frustrating thing is that Wisconsin does not currently have a way for you to get your gun rights back if a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is the reason you don’t have firearm rights. Wisconsin only allows you to seek a pardon for felonies. So, unless your crime of domestic violence case involved a felony conviction, you won’t be able to seek a pardon. Which leaves most people stuck.
The one recourse some people have is that sometimes people are told they lost their gun rights in error. The most frequent error occurs when someone received a battery conviction but was not convicted under a subdivision that included “use or attempted use of physical force.” (18 USC § 921(a)(33)). If that is the case, you should be contacting a skilled attorney to help you figure out if that is the issue and potentially representing you in arguing that you are being denied a firearm in error.
Conclusion
This blog article only scrapes the surface of issue with gun rights that is a complicated mix of Wisconsin state law and federal law. If you are wanting to restore your gun rights contact a skilled attorney who works in this area of law. Not all attorneys are made alike. An attorney who mostly does OWI or DUI cases is probably not the best fit. Subzero Expungements, Pardon & Appeals is a firm that focuses on clearing criminal records and helping people get their life back after a criminal conviction. Contact Subzero today for a free consultation. 651-248-5142.