Felony Probation or Parole---Much? No Gun Access

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Many people are not aware that convicted felons are supposed to have no access to firearms. They have given up their "rights". For life.

Generally, the following is true. If an underage person or an adult who, having a felony conviction, is released into the general population on probation or parole, they are forbidden to have access to guns.

These legal stipulations are considered to be a condition of the release. These documents are written, formal, and legal, presented by the court. These documents are known typically as part of their "probation conditions" or "probation stipulations", which, if not followed, can be used to bring the felon back into custody for violations of those conditions. The felon is aware of these conditions, as the felon  has signed the document and received a copy of same. If not agreed to in writing, the person would not be released from confinement.

What this means is that where ever the felon lives, the other people who may live there have to keep all guns and ammo locked up and inaccessible to the felon. Or get them out of the house, preferably, to another inaccessible location.

So if the felon returns to live with his/her parents,say, the parents have to certify that any guns/ammo in the household are locked up and the felon has no access. Usually, it is the probation/parole officer's job to check on this and verify, through a home visit, which is a common practice.

I have worked with numerous convicted felons. I have required them to bring to me their conditions of probation/parole to assist in ensuring they do not have access to weapons and do not violate their conditions. I always discussed this issue in detail with my clients.

The felons I have worked with typically HATE these restrictions and rail against them bitterly. That is life. They gave up their "rights" by breaking the law.

If a parent (or roommate, say) THEN leaves guns lying around the house where a convicted felon lives, they are, in my opinion, just as culpable of crime and violation of probation conditions as the felon. It is not as if they have not been informed. They have been.

And the housemates or family living with the convicted felon should be held to the same legal considerations, in this kind of case, if they leave weapons lying around the house, as the felon. Whether or not another crime has been committed. The people around the felon are just as culpable if weapons are not secured or discarded.

Here is a link to an amazing story about domestic violence which illustrates the above concerns: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2007/4/5/319817/-Remembering-Alicia-Domestic-Violence-Comes-Home



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