Can I legally own a gun if my Husband is not permitted to?

[Genzashton]

I would like to own a gun for home protection... my Husband was commited to a Psychiatric unit many years ago... like 12 or 15 years ago as a result he is not able to purchase/own due to being "302'd".

We have only been married for three years... does this mean that I cannot possess a gun and that by marrying him I have inadvertently given up my right to protect myself & my children?

Can anyone advise on this?

[XavierBK]

IANAL, but from my understanding if he is not under any kind of supervision, like probation or parole, where someone tells him he cannot be in the vicinity of weapons, then I believe as long as he cannot access them, i.e., they are locked in a safe that he does not have a key or code to open, then you are OK.

[t1066]

I would like to own a gun for home protection... my Husband was commited to a Psychiatric unit many years ago... like 12 or 15 years ago as a result he is not able to purchase/own due to being "302'd".

We have only been married for three years... does this mean that I cannot possess a gun and that by marrying him I have inadvertently given up my right to protect myself & my children?

Can anyone advise on this?

You may want to consider talking to a lawyer that specialized in firearms related law. You may be able to have his rights restored.

You can possess a gun, but to avoid him getting in trouble you need to make sure he never has possession or control of a firearm. As in, you need to store them in a safe or some other secure storage that he is not able to access. So he can't know the combination or have a key to it.

[Genzashton]

Thanks... No he is not on any type of probation or supervision back when he was "302'd" it was because he had a drug problem and so from the psych unit he went to rehab and has been clean and sober ever since. But I know a few years ago he went to purchase a gun and there was one question on there that he was not sure how to answer due to his history and the guy told him "if" he answered yes to that question then he would be turned down... so we did not know what to do at that point.

We did talk to a lawyer about getting him straighten out but they said it may be like $5,000 which is crazy to me...

I then went back and ask the people at "Dicks sporting goods" if I could purchase a gun and explained to them about my Husband and the guy there said no itr would be a "straw" purchase which did not make sense to me because I always thought that was if you were purchasing a gun for someone not allowed to have one and they use it to commit a crime. Which is not the case in our situation.

[Boots_DE]

...
I then went back and ask the people at "Dicks sporting goods" if I could purchase a gun and explained to them about my Husband and the guy there said no itr would be a "straw" purchase which did not make sense to me because I always thought that was if you were purchasing a gun for someone not allowed to have one and they use it to commit a crime. Which is not the case in our situation.

Apparently, they thought you were trying to purchase the gun for your husband. Basically, a straw purchase is when you purchase a gun for someone that cannot purchase it them self. Has nothing to do with whether it is used in a crime or not.

Perhaps gunlawyer can weigh in with some words of wisdom for you.

[knight0334]

Thanks... No he is not on any type of probation or supervision back when he was "302'd" it was because he had a drug problem and so from the psych unit he went to rehab and has been clean and sober ever since. But I know a few years ago he went to purchase a gun and there was one question on there that he was not sure how to answer due to his history and the guy told him "if" he answered yes to that question then he would be turned down... so we did not know what to do at that point.

We did talk to a lawyer about getting him straighten out but they said it may be like $5,000 which is crazy to me...

I then went back and ask the people at "Dicks sporting goods" if I could purchase a gun and explained to them about my Husband and the guy there said no itr would be a "straw" purchase which did not make sense to me because I always thought that was if you were purchasing a gun for someone not allowed to have one and they use it to commit a crime. Which is not the case in our situation.

1st rules of getting proper firearm law information - never ask a dealer or police officer.

As the others here have mentioned, you can still legally buy and own a gun. However your husband can NEVER have access to it or ammunition. Not only can he get into trouble, but you can too.

Unless the gun/ammo is kept in your immediate control(like carrying it), it must remain locked up. Your husband cannot have the key or combination.

[bluedog46]

Not totally related, but the reason the husband is prohibited is because he was commited right? I am hoping that our government does not consider someone with a medical condition a reason to deny them their rights.

[Genzashton]

Not totally related, but the reason the husband is prohibited is because he was commited right? I am hoping that our government does not consider someone with a medical condition a reason to deny them their rights.

Yes, he was "commited" and it was voluntary he actually called the police on himself...

But thank you all for the advise... it was very helpful so far to my thought process. I would love to go to a shooting range and become proficient in use and have a permit to carry it on me "if" I wished to. Otherwise it would definatley be locked up in a household safe.

[yeager484]

Yes, he was "commited" and it was voluntary he actually called the police on himself...

But thank you all for the advise... it was very helpful so far to my thought process. I would love to go to a shooting range and become proficient in use and have a permit to carry it on me "if" I wished to. Otherwise it would definatley be locked up in a household safe.

Wait it was voluntary? I'm no expert on your situation but that's 201 not 302 isn't it?

If I remeber the form for PICS, it asked about INvoluntary...



This is from the PICS challenge form

Were you ever adjudicated incompetent or involuntarily committed?

[fttfbass]

Yes, he was "commited" and it was voluntary he actually called the police on himself...

But thank you all for the advise... it was very helpful so far to my thought process. I would love to go to a shooting range and become proficient in use and have a permit to carry it on me "if" I wished to. Otherwise it would definatley be locked up in a household safe.

If it was voluntary, then he's not prohibited from owning firearms. He should dig into it a little further and find out for sure that it was recorded as a voluntary commitment as opposed to an involuntary commitment.

Once he gets that information, maybe have a lawyer double check to make sure he doesn't run afoul of the law.