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Legal Information: North Dakota

State Gun Laws

Updated: 
December 28, 2023

If the abuser's gun is taken away, what will happen to it?

If the abuser is prohibited from having a firearm because you have a protection order against him/her, it can be given to the
sheriff/chief of police in the county/city in which the abuser lives for “safekeeping.” The abuser can get the firearm back once the protection order expires.1 If the abuser used or possessed a firearm while committing felony or a misdemeanor involving violence or intimidation, the firearm will be taken by law enforcement and forfeited (not returned to the abuser). Law enforcement can sell the firearm, use it, or destroy it.2

1 See ND Statutes §§ 14-07.1-02(4)(g); 14-07.1-03(2)(d)
2 ND Statutes § 62.1-01-02(1)