Federal Gun Charges for Prohibited Person
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you the reality of federal gun charges for prohibited persons - not the sanitized version the government puts on their websites, not the generic legal information sites recycle from each other, but the actual truth about what happens when the federal government decides that you, a gun owner, have no right to own a gun. This is the information that could determine whether you spend the next decade in federal prison or whether you walk free.
There are nine ways to become a prohibited person under federal law. Nine. Not one. Not two. Nine separate categories that strip your Second Amendment rights without trial, without warning, and often without your knowledge. The categories reach far beyond what most people imagine when they hear "prohibited person." You probably think that means violent felons. It doesnt. A misdemeanor domestic violence conviction from fifteen years ago makes you prohibited. Using marijuana in a state where its completely legal makes you prohibited. A restraining order - even one you requested for your own protection - can make you prohibited. A 72-hour psychiatric hold that you voluntarily submitted to during a crisis can make you prohibited.
Here is the part that changes everything, the insight that defense attorneys understand but almost never appears in public information: there is no notification system. When you become a prohibited person, nobody tells you. No letter from the ATF. No call from the FBI. No official communication whatsoever. You learn your status when federal agents show up at your door, or when youre arrested during a traffic stop, or when the background check you assumed would pass comes back denied after youve already committed the crime of attempting to purchase.
The Nine Ways to Become a Federal Criminal Overnight
The Gun Control Act lists nine categories of prohibited persons under 18 USC 922(g). These arent obscure legal technicalities. These are the categories the government uses to prosecute over 8,000 people every single year - thats 22 federal convictions per day for this offense alone.
Heres what makes you prohibited under federal law. Convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment exceeding one year. Notice the language - punishable by, not sentenced to. A crime that COULD result in more then one year imprisonment, even if you served zero days, makes you prohibited. Fugitive from justice. Unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance - and this includes marijuana, even in states where its recreationally legal, because federal law still classifies it as Schedule I. Adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution. An illegal alien. Dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces. Someone who has renounced United States citizenship. Subject to a court order restraining you from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child. Convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Look at that list again. A domestic violence misdemeanor. A mental health hold. Using marijuana. A restraining order. These arent violent felonies. These are circumstances millions of Americans find themselves in. And each one triggers the same prohibition as a murder conviction when it comes to possessing firearms.
Why Nobody Told You That You Lost Your Rights
This is were the system reveals its true nature. Heres the thing - the federal government created these prohibition categories, made violation punishable by up to ten years in federal prison, and then built absolutely no mechanism to inform people when they become prohibited.
Think about that. You could be prohibited right now. Today. Reading this article with a firearm you legally purchased fifteen years ago sitting in your closet. And you might have no idea that possessing that gun - the one you bought after passing a background check, the one thats been in your family for generations, the one you use for home defense - is a federal felony punishable by a decade in prison.
California recognized this problem and built something called APPS - the Armed and Prohibited Persons System. Its the only system of its kind in the nation. It specifically identifies people who purchased firearms legally and then later became prohibited. In 2024 alone, California's DOJ recovered 1,520 firearms from prohibited individuals who had no idea their legal guns had become illegal. One person in Richmond had 11 machine guns, 133 handguns, 60 assault rifles, and 20 silencers - all purchased or acquired legally, all made illegal by a workplace violence restraining order. Not a criminal conviction. A civil restraining order.
OK so what about the other 49 states? They dont have APPS. They wait. They wait untill you do something else - a traffic stop, a domestic disturbance call, another offense - and then they discover you have firearms you shouldnt have. Thats when the federal prosecution begins.
The Legal Gun That Becomes a Ten-Year Sentence
Let me walk you through how this actualy happens. Its not what you imagine.
You get into an argument with your spouse ten years ago. Things got heated. Maybe someone pushed someone. Police were called. To make the whole thing go away quickly, you plead guilty to misdemeanor assault - family violence. The judge gives you a $500 fine and anger management classes. No jail time. Seems like nothing.
Nobody mentions the Lautenberg Amendment. Nobody explains that a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction triggers automatic federal firearm prohibition. Nobody takes your guns. Nobody tells you to get rid of them. You go home that night with your firearms right where you left them.
Five years later your pulled over for a broken taillight. The officer asks if you have any weapons in the vehicle. You answer honestly - yes, theres a hunting rifle in the back that you've had for twenty years. You purchased it legally. Passed the background check. Its registered in your name.
That honest answer triggers a federal investigation that will destroy your life.
The misdemeanor from five years ago made you a prohibited person. The rifle you've had for two decades - the one you bought legally, the one that sat in your closet through the entire domestic violence case - is now evidence of a federal felony. 18 USC 922(g)(9). Punishable by up to ten years in federal prison.
Heres were it gets worse. Federal prison has no parole. The federal system eliminated parole in 1987. You serve 85% of your sentence minimum. A ten year sentence means eight and a half years behind bars. No early release for good behavior beyond that 15% reduction. The number they give you is essentially the number you serve.
What Federal Prosecutors Know That You Dont
Todd Spodek has seen this pattern hundreds of times. Clients come in genuinly confused. They had no idea they were prohibited. They passed background checks. They followed what they believed were the rules. And now theyre facing the full weight of the federal criminal justice system.
Heres what prosecutors know that most defendants dont understand untill its too late. The federal conviction rate for 922(g) cases exceeds 90%. Think about that number. More then nine out of ten people charged with this offense are convicted. Federal prosecutors dont bring cases they might loose. By the time youre indicted, theyve already assembled the evidence they need. The trial isnt a search for truth - its documentation of a conclusion theyve already reached.
But wait - it gets worse. In many federal circuits, the government doesnt need to prove you KNEW you were prohibited. Read that again. Ignorance is not a defense. Strict liability means the prosecution proves two things: you were prohibited (court records, background check database), and you possessed a firearm (found in your home, your car, your person). Thats it. Your genuine, reasonable belief that you had every right to own that gun is legally irrelevant.
Heres the kicker - even constructive possession counts. You dont need to own the gun. You dont need to have purchased it. If your roomate has a firearm and you have access to it, prosecutors can argue constructive possession. If your visiting someones home and theres a gun in the room your sleeping in, that can be enough. The definition of "possession" under federal law is vastly broader then most people realize.
The Cases That Changed Everything - And What They Mean For You
The legal landscape shifted dramaticaly in 2022 when the Supreme Court decided New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. That decision required courts to evaluate gun regulations based on whether they're consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation. Defense attorneys across the country immedietly began challenging prohibited person statutes.
Some challenges succeeded. In Range v. Attorney General, the Third Circuit ruled that 922(g)(1) was unconstitutional as applied to a man whose only felony was food stamp fraud - lying about his income to get benefits. A non-violent offense. The court said the lifetime firearm ban wasnt consistent with historical tradition for someone like him.
In United States v. Daniels, the Fifth Circuit found that prohibiting "unlawful users of controlled substances" from possessing firearms was unconstitutional as applied to a marijuana user. This directly challenges the federal governments ability to prosecute people who use marijuana in legal states.
But then came Rahimi. United States v. Rahimi, decided June 2024. Zackey Rahimi was subject to a domestic violence restraining order and became a suspect in multiple shootings. The Fifth Circuit initially ruled in his favor - said the prohibition was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court reversed 8-1. The government can disarm people who pose "a clear threat of physical violence."
What does this mean for you? It means the law is in chaos. Whether your challenge succeeds depends enormously on WHERE your prosecuted, not just WHAT you did. The same defendant with the same facts might win in the Third Circuit and lose in the Fifth. This creates opportunity for defense, but also profound uncertainty.
At Spodek Law Group we track these developments obsessively because they directly effect our clients outcomes. The post-Bruen landscape is a minefield - but minefields can be navigated with the right guide.
The Drug Use Trap That Nobody Sees Coming
If your a marijuana user - even in a state where cannabis is completly legal - you are a prohibited person under federal law. Full stop. It doesnt matter that your state legalized it. It doesnt matter that you have a medical card. It doesnt matter that you buy from a licensed dispensary and pay state taxes on your purchases. Federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance. Using it makes you an "unlawful user of a controlled substance" under 18 USC 922(g)(3).
Heres the nightmare scenario that plays out regulary. You live in Colorado, California, or any of the growing number of states with legal recreational marijuana. You smoke occasionaly. Maybe you have edibles on the weekends. Completly legal under state law. You also own firearms - bought legally, background checks passed, everything above board.
You are commiting a federal felony every single day that you possess those firearms while using marijuana. The dispensary that sold you legal cannabis has records of your purchases. Those records can be subpoenaed. Your credit card statements show the transactions. Your medical marijuana card - if you have one - is essentially a signed confession.
The Fifth Circuit in United States v. Daniels found this prohibition unconstitutional as applied to a marijuana user. Thats one circuit. Others have reached different conclusions. Whether your protected depends entirely on geography - were your prosecuted, not what you did.
Sound familiar? It should. The same pattern repeats across every prohibited category. No notice. No warning. No clear path to know if constitutional challenges will protect you. Just the possability of a decade in federal prison for exercising what your state told you was your legal right.
The Domestic Violence Trap
The domestic violence prohibition deserves special attention becuase it catches more people off guard then any other category. Heres what most people dont understand: the Lautenberg Amendment treats a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction identically to a felony conviction for purposes of firearm prohibition.
A slap during an argument. A shove. Throwing something that hits your partner. Pled down to misdemeanor to make it go away. Maybe you went to anger management. Maybe you paid a fine. Maybe you did community service. You thought it was over.
Its never over. That misdemeanor follows you forever under federal law. And heres the cruel twist - many states have restoration processes for felonies but not for misdemeanors. You can sometimes get felony gun rights restored. Misdemeanor domestic violence? Theres often no path back.
The Supreme Court in Rahimi specifically upheld the restraining order prohibition. "When an individual poses a clear threat of physical violence to another, the threatening individual may be disarmed." This reasoning will be used to uphold domestic violence misdemeanor prohibitions as well. The constitutional challenges that worked for food stamp fraud wont work here.
The State Expungement Lie
This is perhaps the cruelest paradox in the entire system. Your state tells you your record is expunged. Cleared. Gone. You pass state background checks. You're told you can own firearms again. The state even issues you a concealed carry permit.
None of this matters under federal law.
Federal law does not recognize most state expungements for purposes of the firearm prohibition. The federal definition of "conviction" is different then state definitions. A record that's sealed, expunged, or set aside under state law may still qualify as a conviction under 18 USC 921(a)(20).
Think about what this means. Your state gave you explicit permission to own firearms. You relied on that permission. You purchased guns legally under state law. And now the federal government can prosecute you because they dont recognize the expungement your state granted.
Todd Spodek encounters this constantly. Clients who did everything right. Who followed their attorneys advice. Who got the expungement they were told would restore their rights. Who purchased firearms through licensed dealers and passed background checks. All of it means nothing when federal prosecutors decide to charge.
What Defense Actually Looks Like
Defense attorneys fighting these cases focus on procedural challenges more often then substantive defenses. Thats not becuase substantive defenses dont exist - Range and Daniels prove they do. Its because procedural defenses work more consistantly across circuits.
How did law enforcement discover the firearm? If they found it during a traffic stop, was the stop justified? Did they have probable cause to search? If they found it during a home search, was the warrant valid? Did they exceed the scope? Every piece of evidence has a chain of custody and a constitutional foundation. Break either one, and the evidence may be suppressed.
Constructive possession cases offer another avenue. Just becuase a firearm was in your home doesnt mean you possessed it. If your roommate owned the gun, if you didnt have exclusive control over the area were it was found, if you genuinly didnt know it was there - these are facts that can defeat a possession charge or at least create reasonable doubt.
Then theres the constitutional challenge. Post-Bruen, every prohibited category is potentially vulnerable to as-applied challenges. The key is matching your specific circumstances to historical analogues that show the founding generation wouldnt have disarmed someone in your situation. This requires deep research into 18th century firearms laws and careful legal argument. Its not a guarenteed win - Rahimi shows the Supreme Court will uphold prohibitions for people deemed dangerous. But for non-violent offenders, for drug users in legal states, for people caught in technical violations - the door is open.
The Clock Is Already Running
If your reading this article because you suspect you might be a prohibited person, or because youve already been contacted by federal agents, understand this: every day you remain in possession of a firearm is another day of the offense. The crime is ongoing. Continuing.
The time to act is now.
Many people think they should wait and see. Maybe nothing will happen. Maybe the agents were just fishing. Maybe the background check denial was a mistake that will get sorted out.
This thinking destroys lives. Federal investigations move slowly - but they move inexorably. The government might take months or years to build their case. They have the time. They have the resources. They have a 90%+ conviction rate backing up their confidence.
You have a narrow window to take action. Proper disposal of firearms. Rights restoration petitions where available. Constitutional challenges to your prohibited status. Cooperation strategies that might influence charging decisions. Each of these options has a shelf life that expires as the investigation progresses.
At Spodek Law Group, we've represented clients who came to us early and clients who came to us after indictment. The outcomes are dramatically different. Early intervention changes everything - the charges filed, the evidence considered, the sentence ultimately imposed.
The federal government had months or years to investigate you before you knew anything was happening. They were building their case while you were living your life, unaware that the gun in your closet had transformed from constitutionally protected property into a federal felony.
They had time. You have days. Maybe hours. How you use that time determines whether you spend the next decade behind bars or whether you find a path forward.
Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. We answer calls 24/7. The consultation is confidential and protected by attorney-client privilege from the moment you speak with us.
The system wasnt designed to be fair. It was designed to be efficient. And efficient prosecution means easy convictions of people who never saw the charges coming.
Dont be one of those people. Call now.
