As a starting place for people that will be arrested for bearing arms, the following list is a beginning. Note that in the case of a restraining order that was issued 50 years ago, unless it was removed by the person that placed it, it is still active and the FBI may bust down your doors, confiscate whatever they feel like, put you in jail, and everything that goes with it.
SUMMARY OF FEDERAL LAW
Federal law establishes a baseline national standard regarding the criteria that make people ineligible to acquire and possess firearms. The federal Gun Control Act of 1968, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 922, generally prohibits the sale to, and possession of firearms by, a person who:
Has been convicted of, or is under indictment for:
- A federal crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year (typically a felony)
A state crime that is not classified as a misdemeanor and is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year
A state crime that is classified as a misdemeanor under state law and is punishable by more than two years imprisonment
Is a fugitive from justice
Is “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance”
Though certain states have legalized the use of medical and recreational marijuana, it remains illegal under federal law. Therefore, ATF considers people who use marijuana legally under state law unlawful users of a controlled substance.
Is underage (For additional information about federal age restrictions for the purchase and possession of firearms, see our page on the Minimum Age to Purchase and Possess Firearms.)
Has been found by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority to be a danger to self or others, or to “lack[] the mental capacity to contract or manage [their] own affairs,” as a result of their mental condition or illness (This prohibition also expressly applies when a person has been found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty of a crime due to mental incapacity)
Has been involuntarily hospitalized or committed to a mental health or substance abuse treatment facility by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority. (This prohibition does not apply when a person is admitted for treatment voluntarily or when a person is only hospitalized for short-term observation without longer-term commitment or court-ordered treatment.)
Is unlawfully in the United States or has been admitted to the US under a nonimmigrant visa
Has been dishonorably discharged from the US Armed Forces
Has renounced their US citizenship
Is subject to an active court order restraining them from harassing, stalking or threatening an intimate partner, their child, or a child of a partner, or from engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child
Has been convicted of a misdemeanor offense of domestic violence