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Legal Information: Idaho

State Gun Laws

Updated: 
November 7, 2023

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 have a firearm:

  • aggravated assault;
  • aggravated battery;
  • assault with intent to commit a serious felony;
  • battery with intent to commit a serious felony;
  • burglary;
  • 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)