How to Protect Your Gun Rights

There is no one way to protect your gun rights. Instead, you should take multiple approaches. You could join a gun rights organization such as the NRA and help with advocacy work, such as writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. You should also become aware of how any criminal conviction could impact your gun rights.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Joining a Gun Rights Organization

1
Find gun rights organizations. The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the most prominent national gun rights lobby in the United States. However, you might also want to join other national organizations, or even local or state-level gun rights organizations. For example, the Second Amendment Foundation is a national organization committed to promoting the public’s understanding of the Constitutional right to firearms.^{[1]XResearch source}
- To find organizations, you can type “protect gun rights” into your search engine.
- To find state-level organizations, type “your state” and “gun rights” into the search engine.
2
Get an application. You typically have to fill out an application to join any gun rights organization, though you can often submit your information online. To join the NRA, for example, you will need to provide the following information on their webpage:^{[2]XResearch source}
- your name
- your address
- an email address
- your phone number (optional)
- your date of birth (optional)
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3
Pay the fee. Most organizations are member-funded, so you will need to pay some money to join. Typically, gun rights organizations will have different membership tiers. For example, the NRA offers the following membership options, which you can pay for with a credit card on the website:^{[3]XResearch source}
- One-year membership. Currently $25.
- Multi-year memberships (for two, three, or five years) for $50, $70, or $100.
- Life member. For $1,500, you can become a lifetime member of the NRA. You have the option of making quarterly payments of $25 per quarter.
- Junior member. You can join as a junior member for $15. Junior members can also get a junior life membership for $550.
- Distinguished member. Available for those 65 or older, as well as for veterans. Cost: $30 a year, or $750 for a distinguished lifetime membership.
4
Become an activist. Financial support helps these organizations fight for gun rights. But many organizations also give you the chance to increase your participation. They will send frequent alerts telling you how you can bring attention to gun rights. Your activism could take many forms:
- Contact your elected representatives and express support for bills that increase gun rights.
- Write letters to your newspaper, in which you discuss the importance of gun rights and explain why your community should reject gun restrictions.
- Campaign for candidates to state and federal office who support increasing gun rights.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Protecting Your Rights when Accused of a Crime

1
Understand the prohibition on felons owning guns. Your state and the federal government can limit your rights to own a firearm. The most common limitation is the federal prohibition on felons owning a gun if they were convicted of a crime that could result in imprisonment for more than one year. You do not actually have to serve more than a year in prison. It is enough that, under state or federal law, you could have been sentenced for that crime to more than a year in jail.^{[4]XResearch source}
- Federal law, however, makes an exception for misdemeanor convictions if the crime would not result in imprisonment for more than two years.
- The misdemeanor exception does not apply if you were convicted of a domestic violence offense.
2
Read about your state restrictions. States can also limit who can own guns within their state boundaries. These limitations may be in addition to the federal limitation on felons owning guns. You should understand the effects of any misdemeanor conviction in your state.
- To find your state laws, you can visit your nearest law library, which could be at the courthouse or at a nearby law school. Ask the librarian to help you find the laws regarding gun ownership in your state.
- You can also visit the website of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Although this is an organization dedicated to limiting your gun rights, they have helpfully collected information about state gun laws. Click on any state on the map and then read up on that state’s gun laws.^{[5]XResearch source}
3
Meet with a lawyer if you are accused of a crime. You will face pressure to take a plea bargain in order to make a prosecution go away.^{[6]XResearch source} However, if you agree to plead guilty to a felony, then you could lose your gun rights. You also could lose your gun rights if you plead guilty to a misdemeanor which could carry a term of imprisonment for more than two years.
- Before accepting a plea deal, you need to meet with an attorney. Tell the lawyer that protecting your gun rights is very important to you and ask the lawyer how you can go about doing that. The lawyer might be able to talk the prosecutor down to charging you with a misdemeanor.
- If you need to find a criminal defense lawyer, then contact your local or state bar association and ask for a referral. If you have a public defender, ask him or her how pleading guilty will affect your gun rights.
4
Go to trial. The prosecuting attorney might not let you plead to a misdemeanor. Instead, they might insist that you plead guilty to a felony. In this situation, the only way to protect your gun rights would be to go to trial and win your case. If you aren’t convicted, then you can generally keep your gun rights.
- Talk with your lawyer about how hard you should fight the prosecution. It may be possible in your state to have your gun rights restored after you serve your sentence. Because this depends on your state’s law, be sure to talk to your lawyer.
5
Petition to get gun rights back after a conviction. If you are convicted of a felony, then you may be able to petition your state to restore your gun rights.^{[7]XResearch source} Each state has its own policies, and in some states you can’t get your gun rights back no matter what. However, you should talk to a lawyer about how your state handles restoring gun rights to ex-felons.
- See Get Gun Rights Back for more information.
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The law regarding gun rights continues to evolve. For example, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill allowing non-violent felons to get their gun rights back. As of 2016, the bill is pending in the Senate. Also, the federal courts have been reviewing state laws regarding guns with increasing frequency. You should always consult an attorney if you have a question about the current state of the law.
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