Domestic Violence and Possession of a Firearm

          It is common knowledge that it is illegal for someone who has been convicted of a felony to possess a firearm.  But what is not so commonly known is that it is also a federal crime for a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to possess a firearm.

          In 1996, Congress extended the federal Gun Control Act's prohibition on possession of a firearm by a convicted felon to include individuals "convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence."  Moreover, Congress also made it illegal for employees of such individuals to possess firearms "in the course of such employment."

         My hunch is that very few people who are convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence know that they are committing a federal crime by possessing a firearm.  In fact, a recent U.S. Supreme Court called United States v. Hayes seems to provide an example of this very thing happening to someone.  Hopefully this article will help prevent the same unfortunate thing from happening to someone else.