I am a victim of domestic violence and the abuser has a gun. Is that legal?
According to Idaho state law, anyone who meets any of the following cannot get a license to carry concealed weapons:
- is under age twenty-one, although there are exceptions in the law regarding people ages 18 - 21;
- is currently formally charged with a felony crime;
- has been found guilty in any court of a felony crime;
- is a fugitive from justice;
- is an unlawful user of marijuana or any depressant, stimulant or narcotic drug, or other controlled substance;
- is currently suffering from, or has been declared by a court as having suffered from, any of the following conditions:
- lacking mental capacity;
- mental illness;
- being gravely disabled; or
- being an incapacitated person;
- has been discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions;
- has received a withheld judgment or suspended sentence for a felony crime, unless the person has successfully completed probation;
- is currently under probation after having been found guilty of, or received a withheld judgment for, a misdemeanor offense that involves the intentional use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another;
- is an “alien” illegally in the United States;
- was a citizen of the United States but has renounced his/her citizenship;
- is free on bond or personal recognizance pending trial, appeal or sentencing for a crime which would disqualify him/her from obtaining a concealed weapons license;
- is subject to a domestic violence protection order that restrains him/her from harassing, stalking or threatening an intimate partner, his/her own child, or a child of the intimate partner; or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or a child; or
- is for any other reason ineligible to own, possess or receive a firearm under Idaho law or federal law.1
In addition, Idaho law says that anyone convicted of any of the following felony crimes permanently loses his/her right to “ship, transport, possess or receive” a firearm: aggravated assault; aggravated battery; assault with intent to commit a serious felony; battery with intent to commit a serious felony; burglary; crime against nature; felony domestic battery; felony enticing of children; forcible sexual penetration by use of a foreign object; felony indecent exposure; felony injury to child; felony intimidating a witness; lewd conduct with a minor or child under sixteen; sexual abuse of a child under sixteen; sexual exploitation of a child; felonious rescuing prisoners; escape by one charged with, convicted of or on probation for a felony; unlawful possession of a firearm; degrees of murder; voluntary manslaughter; assault with intent to murder; administering poison with intent to kill; kidnapping; mayhem; rape; robbery; ritualized abuse of a child; cannibalism; felonious manufacture, delivery or possession with the intent to manufacture or deliver, or possession of a controlled or counterfeit substance; trafficking; felony threats against state officials of the executive, legislative or judicial branch; unlawful discharge of a firearm at a dwelling house, occupied building, vehicle or mobile home; unlawful possession of destructive devices; unlawful use of destructive device or bomb; or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation, to commit any of the above-mentioned crimes.2
If any of these situations apply to the abuser, it may be illegal for him/her to have a gun. Also, federal laws, which apply to all states, restrict an abuser’s right to have a gun if you have a restraining order against him/her that meets certain requirements or if s/he has been convicted of a felony or domestic violence misdemeanor. Go to Federal Gun Laws to get more information.
1 ID Code § 18-3302(11)
2 ID Code § 18-310(2)