Some Felons Now Have a Legal Path Back to Gun Ownership
Listen up! If you ever had a felony conviction and lost your firearm rights but you hated losing them, then your time has come. You might be able to get them back now.
On August 17, 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) finalized a rule that would allow convicted felons and others a legal path forward to gun ownership. In the past, people who had criminal convictions couldn’t own firearms, but some of them can now have their gun rights restored if they want to.
The new rule is meant to help non-violent felons who lost their gun rights after a criminal conviction get a second chance at having their gun rights reinstated.
How the Rule About Restoring Gun Rights Will Work
For those who lost their gun rights because of a felony conviction, you can now apply to have your gun rights restored. However, the DOJ has said that they will restore gun rights to convicted felons on a case-by-case basis. How they will consider your application will depend on your record and reputation. They will use that to determine if you’re a threat to public safety.
The DOJ also added that those convicted of violent crimes, murderers, registered sex offenders, human traffickers, armed robbers, carjackers, kidnappers, and illegal immigrants would be denied this right to restore their gun rights, except in “extraordinary circumstances.”
The rules now given, the DOJ said, were meant to protect public safety and will still give deserving felons a second chance at gun rights.
Who Can Apply?
Those who may have a second chance at applying include:
Individuals with felony drug use
Misdemeanor domestic violence
People with certain mental health adjudications
Those with dishonorable discharge in the U.S. military
Citizens who formally renounced their citizenship
Those with domestic violence restraining orders
Individuals with felonies that led to more than one year in prison
Fugitives
They do have a waiting period for some crimes. You also need to serve your entire prison sentence before you can apply.
For those convicted of nonviolent felonies like embezzlement, theft, or financial crimes, you need to wait five years before you can apply. Those with other convictions like a misdemeanor for domestic violence, drug trafficking, or certain non-violent firearms convictions need to wait 10 years before they can apply to have their firearm rights reinstated.
Effort to Ease Firearms Restrictions
The Second Amendment has been treated like a second-class right and up for negotiation, but that’s not what it says in the Constitution. One example of this is that the right to restore your gun rights for convicted felons has technically existed for a long time.
Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968, but ever since 1992, Congress has stopped the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives from processing the applications.
This is why President Donald Trump made the move to not unfairly restrict gun rights to those who deserve a second chance. All of this is being done with scrutiny.
The new rule follows at the wake of an effort to ease some of the past gun restrictions in the U.S. In a different affair, the DOJ also decided against striking down a court decision that would regulate firearm suppressors and certain guns.
President Trump circumvented the previous obstacles by creating a new application system and adding a new portal.
Popular Initiative to Take Advantage Of
The DOJ fully expects that they will be able to fund the gun rights restoration program from the licensing fees it would cost to have your gun rights restored. The agency has predicted that they will receive 330,000 applications in the first year of operation.
What Do You Think?
What do you think of this new rule to give non-violent felons a path forward to restoring their gun rights? For a long time, many of those convicted of a crime have complained about the loss of their gun rights. This new rule could help to restore gun rights for those deserving of it.
Obviously, not everyone is going to love the new policy. What are your thoughts on it? Would you prefer more gun restrictions, or do you like that we are upholding the Second Amendment? Let us know in the comments below.
