Federal Weapons and Firearm Offenses Lawyer Missouri

Federal Weapons Crimes: What to Know

The federal government has limited criminal jurisdiction over firearm-related crimes. Instead, most police powers rest with the states. However, Congress has passed several weapons laws using its power over interstate commerce.

Specifically, the federal government licenses gun dealers and regulates the firearms that people can sell or possess in the U.S. Moreover, federal laws dictate who can buy or possess a firearm.

These federal laws are not limited to firearms. They also cover gun parts, like silencers, and automatic knives, like switchblades.

The goal of these laws is to control the firearms market. For the most part, the courts believe these restrictions do not violate the Constitution’s Second Amendment because they leave paths open for the lawful purchase of firearms for law-abiding Americans.

Statutes Covering Federal Weapons and Firearm Offenses

The U.S. Code includes one primary statute with over a dozen firearms violations and several additional statutes for more specific crimes. These statutes cover the following acts:

Possession by Prohibited People

Certain people are not allowed to possess firearms under federal law, including people who fall into the following categories:

• Indicted or convicted of a felony
• Adjudicated as mentally unfit or committed to a mental institution after 16
• Subject to domestic violence restraining orders
• Convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge
• Fugitives
• Unlawful drug users
• Veterans dishonorably discharged
• Unlawful aliens and people present in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas
• U.S. citizens who renounced their citizenship
• Anyone who intends to sell the firearm in furtherance of a felony, terrorism, or drug trafficking

Federal law also prohibits straw purchases. These are purchases where someone lawfully buys a firearm with the intent to sell or transfer it to a prohibited person.

Under this section, possession includes both actual and constructive possession.

Possession, Sale, or Transport of Prohibited Weapons

Federal law also prohibits transactions involving certain weapons. Prohibited weapons include:

• Destructive device
• Machine gun
• Short-barreled shotgun
• Short-barreled rifle

Several types of weapons can be considered destructive devices under federal law, such as:

• Explosives, like bombs and grenades
• Rockets with more than four ounces of propellant
• Missiles with more than a quarter ounce of explosive or incendiary charges
• Mines
• Poison gases
• Firearms with a bore greater than half an inch in diameter

Regulation of Gun Dealers

Anyone engaged in the business of selling, making, or importing firearms must have a firearm license from the federal government. People or businesses who run an unlicensed gun business violate federal laws.

Additionally, licensed gun dealers can violate the law if they:

• Make a false statement when they apply for their dealer license
• Make false entries in the records required by federal law
• Fail to maintain federally required records
• Fail to conduct a background check before selling a firearm
• Sell a firearm to a prohibited person

Notably, gun dealers are not exempted from laws against gun trafficking. Thus, a licensed dealer who knowingly sells to a prohibited person could face gun trafficking charges.

Possession and Use of Firearms

Even when a person can legally possess firearms, there are certain places they cannot have them, such as school zones or federal facilities. Additionally, having a gun while committing a drug trafficking offense or a violent crime is generally a federal crime.

Defenses to Federal Weapons and Firearm Offenses in Missouri

Lack of Intent

Most gun crimes must be committed knowingly. For example, suppose that a prohibited person borrows a friend’s car. They get pulled over, and the officer finds a firearm under the seat. The person could defend themselves if they did not know the gun was in the car by asserting a lack of intent.

Statutory Exception

Federal gun laws exempt certain activities. Thus, the statute that prohibits possession of firearms in a school zone excludes firearms that are not loaded and held in a locked container. If you were arrested for having a gun in a locked gun safe, you may have a defense.

Illegal Search

Law enforcement officers must search for evidence. However, the Constitution restricts how these searches occur.

Specifically, the Fourth Amendment requires officers to have a search warrant, obtain your permission, or prove the search falls into an exception, such as the plain sight doctrine or the automobile exception. A judge must exclude all evidence recovered in an illegal search.

Penalties for Federal Weapons and Firearm Offenses in Missouri

You can face a wide range of penalties for federal weapons and firearm offenses in Missouri, including the following: