Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Today, I received an interesting inquiry. Someone asked me, “if a person has his Florida Criminal Record sealed, can he possess a firearm?” There are a few reasons that a person may be prohibited from carrying a firearm in Florida as established by Chapter 790 of the Florida Statutes. Most Jacksonville residents that I have talked with are unable to possess a Firearm due to a prior felony conviction. Therefore, let us assume that a convicted felon would like to have his record sealed in order to purchase a firearm. He cannot do this.
You cannot have your Florida criminal record sealed if you were convicted of a crime. If a person is a convicted felon, he cannot have his record sealed, period. However, if he was given a withhold of adjudication, he is not a convicted felon. Therefore, he may be able to have his record sealed, depending on other circumstances. If this person is not a convicted felon and does not fall under any other exemption, he can possess a firearm, regardless of whether or not his Florida criminal record is sealed.
To answer the original question, a record seal will not make a difference as to a person’s ability to possess a firearm, because if he cannot possess the firearm due to a felony conviction, then he cannot get the record sealed. If he is eligible to have his record sealed, then he is not a convicted felon and can possess a firearm (unless there is some other condition prohibiting the possession).
To learn more about Sealing a Jacksonville Florida Criminal record, visit Jacksonvillelawyer.pro or contact a Jacksonville Record Sealing Attorney.
To learn more about Firearm possession visit www.guntrustlawyer.com, or contact a Jacksonville Firearms Attorney.