Can't legally own a firearm what is an alternative?

[holysmoke]

20 years ago as a teenager I became a felon for drugs. I want to own a firearm but can't.

What can I do to defend my family? I want to protect the supplies I have and of course our lives.

Thanks.

[nullzero]

Have your wife be the gun owner and one who controls the gun. Its very common for the husband/wife to know how to use their significant others guns (I dont think you can legally fire a gun if your wife gets a gun at any range etc.). Otherwise I dont know any other legal way.

[groberts76]

yeah thats about your best bet. after TSHTF and if/when laws are void, you can get a gun/guns dont break the law now or youl end up in deep doo doo when they find it.

[Jerry D Young]

Conventional, recurve, or compound bow if you are allowed them. Ditto a crossbow. Double ditto a black powder arm. I have doubts you can do black powder, but it would be worth checking into. Atlatl. Sling.

Everything else I can think of is hand to hand range. All the regulars. Tomahawk, lance, sword, sabre, pike, throwing spear, boar spear, morning star, Louiville slugger, mace, flail, pitchfork, war axe, war pick. Ice pick. Length of chain. soap in a sock. Umbrella.

[DocYoung]

Doesnt the hole "felony" issue have a statute of limitations on it? I know the “restraining order” thing and a few other issues do. If nothing else, have a friend get one on stand by for you, EOTWAWKI more then likely won’t include background checks.

[just in case]

Look into air rifles and air pistols. Some air rifles reach 1200 fps or more.
A walther cp99 compact looks like a real firearm and is magazine loaded and weighs a lil more than the real thing. The magazine holds 17-19 bb's and everytime you fire it blows back kinda like a real gun.

[FredLee]

Most states have a process where a persons criminal record can be expunged.(spelling?) It requires you to have kept your nose clean for a while.A friend of mine is going thru it now.Same thing,drug charge. He is now a very hard working decent guy.See an attorney.

[Txkstew]

Once you have a final conviction, that's the operative word, conviction of a felony, it becomes a federal problem. There is a way to get your civil rights restored by the ATF. The only problem with that, is Congress has forbidden the expenditure of any funds for that program. That mean you are SOL, until Congress funds the program.
Now in Texas, there is a type of probation, where the judge with holds final conviction, (unadjudicated), and if you don't get in trouble, he throws out the case, and you can then own firearms.
Back to the ATF, years ago a friend of mine got in trouble, and was convicted, even though he did not go to prison. Later, while the program to restore civil rights was still operating, he went down and applied. It took a long of time to get processed, so he waited. One day, he was at a coffee shop eating breakfast, and a man asked if he could sit at his table. Strange, but no big deal. They sat and talked awhile, but nothing important, just small talk. Later he was called into the ATF office to finalize the process. He went in to talk to an agent, and there behind the desk was the man in the coffee shop. He said he liked to check out people like that before approving them.

[Rutger]

In my area, the only felonies that prevent you from owning a gun are violence, domestic violence (threatened or actual), drug trafficking, or firearms related crimes (armed robbery, etc) Is this something that an attorney can assist you with?

[blue123]

Originally Posted by holysmoke

20 years ago as a teenager I became a felon for drugs. I want to own a firearm but can't.

What can I do to defend my family? I want to protect the supplies I have and of course our lives.

Thanks.

see if it is possible to petition the court for a ''record seal'' or ''expungement'' 20 year old felony's especialy as a teenager is a good chance for a removal from record providing you have kept your nose clean since then........
there are a whole host of services available at resoenable prices...i strongly advise you cantact one that is working in your area and lay your case work in front of them and see what they say..........
http://www.removeit.org/
http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20869
i see no reason why someone should go around branded for the rest of their life because of something done as a teenager, especialy if you have learned from the error of your ways..............

[hellspawn]

Are you allowed to own an air rifle ? if so look at www.pyramidair.com they have the DragonSlayer which is a .50 cal air rifle and I have seen them hunt feral hogs with them ...and yes they killed the hogs.

[Dwind]

depends on the state. Mostly you won't be able to legally own anything like that. I've even heard of strict judges sending guys off to jail for slingshots and airguns.

Course even in jail you can make a double barrel shotgun musket that is charged with finely powdered and compressed matchstick heads

[Herd Sniper]

You could get your conviction expunged. You need to have an attorney do the work. He could go to a judge or to the governor's office, state your case and have them "erase the conviction" on you. The expungement then re-instates ALL of your rights. Even the right to own guns.

[holysmoke]

the state was IL I now live in FL.

the process requires going before the governors board of like 8 people and asking them to recommend the governor pardon me. the governor rarely pardons anyone and the process is quite expensive.

I am thankful for all the responses and I think the cheapest and easiest solution is for my wife to get a firearm.

[1eaglescout]

I think the cheapest and easiest solution is for my wife to get a firearm.

I can see that, but why not at least attempt to get your record cleared?

[Wright B. Hindya]

Originally Posted by holysmoke

20 years ago as a teenager I became a felon for drugs. I want to own a firearm but can't.

What can I do to defend my family? I want to protect the supplies I have and of course our lives.

Thanks.

20 years ago? Don't they ever forgive you over there?
Here, if you are a one time offender with a minor sentence they wipe your paper clean after 7 years and you get back all rights. If you step over again, it sticks forever.

[Herd Sniper]

Yes, it can be expensive. You are right about that. However, if you know somebody who is a good writer, kind of smart and knows how to follow procedures you can bypass the expensive part and still have your case plea made in front of the governor or a judge. What I would do is find out, by means of research, who in which state is legally allowed to expunge a criminal conviction. I would try to get the expungement done first in Illinois and then second in Florida. Every governor has aides who review different areas for them. You could find out who that particular aide is by simply making a phone call to the governor's office or by e-mailing his office. You can also find out which judge can order an expungement by doing research. It is not unusual for a conviction to be expunged by another judge, generally from the same court district, later on years down the road. Finding a judge to do the expungement isn't all that hard but you need to make sure that it is legal and that you have all the legally mandated papers. The key in the documentation is to make sure that you use the right papers, the right color folders, etc. and follow the right procedures in writing or drafting them. There probably is a nominal filing fee of a few dollars, generally under $50. In your papers you will have to show cause, show past history (This item has GOT to be 100% right.) and show that you have EARNED this expungement and you have to write all of this up in an intelligent fashion. You also have to show how the past conviction is also viewed in the modern fashion which could surprise you because what used to be a felony could now be reduced to a misdemeanor by today's standards. If you were convicted in the 1960's, 70's or early 80's there is a good possibility that by today's standards you wouldn't be a felon either because the amount of drugs or new court probation standards that are in effect. Either way, expungement could very well be the way to go if you were to do a little research...

[kd7one]

Learn knife fighting or how to use a sword.

There are situations where a gun just makes too much noise.

Maybe a compound crossbow with a night scope.

Even learning Dim Mak might help.

[cadethepagan]

Write an ass kissing letter to the president and ask him for a pardon of all charges. It might not work but my friend wrote to our govenor and got an assault charge taken off his record so he could get a job in law enforement.


-Cade

[rc1richard]

You should be able to own a blackpowder gun as they are not classified as firearms. With todays sabot loadings they are very lethal. If it will kill a deer it will kill a human.