If you have been convicted of or adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile of a felony-level “Crime of Violence,” this applies to you.
Currently in Minnesota, offenders convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a crime listed under Minn. Stat. § 624.712, Subd. 5 (Crimes of Violence) have a lifetime prohibition on possessing firearms. While on the surface this seems like common sense, unfortunately, the list of crimes of violence include all sorts of offenses, such as theft of a motor vehicle (a property offense) and all drug crimes in chapter 152 (typically an offense that does not involve actual violence).
A full list of the “Crimes of Violence” can be found here:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=624.712
Senator Barb Goodwin has introduced legislation this year that would repeal the process for offenders convicted of these offenses to petition the court to have their gun rights restored. Read about the proposed legislation here:http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/187400681.html
Often, these petitions involve cases where the statute has snared someone that everyone agrees is not a threat to public safety. Think of the teenager who lives up north on a lake, who jokingly steals a motor boat with a bunch of friends on a summer night, then is adjudicated delinquent of theft of a motor vehicle, and now can longer hunt with his family for the rest of his life. Or the woman who has a cocaine problem in her early twenties, gets caught possessing a tiny amount of cocaine, gets put in a drug diversion program but then fails probation due to continued use (of even marijuana), and ends up with a conviction for fifth degree possession. Years later she has demonstrated sobriety and her life is totally different, but she can never hunt again even though she has absolutely no history of violent behavior. Or think of the young kid who commits a crime for the benefit of a gang in his teens, but then grows up and goes to the police academy to become a cop so he can relate to the next generation of kids on the street. That person would be forever prohibited from being a cop, even though the prosecutors and judges all agree that person should get their gun rights back and would be a benefit to have on the police force.
If you are convicted or adjudicated delinquent of a crime of violence, contact Brandt Kettwick Defense to inquire about the process for restoring your rights before it is too late and that opportunity is no longer available.