Can You Own a Gun After a Conviction in Minnesota?

Two Layers: State and Federal

Minnesota's firearm-eligibility rules appear largely in Minn. Stat. section 624.713, with "crime of violence" defined in section 624.712 and restoration governed by section 609.165. Separately, federal law under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) imposes its own prohibitions. You must satisfy both -- being clear under one does not mean you are clear under the other. [VERIFY: confirm current text of 624.713, 624.712, 609.165, and the relevant federal provisions before publishing.]

Temporary vs. Lifetime Loss

• Temporary loss. Some convictions restrict firearm possession for a defined period. For example, certain domestic-related and drug-related convictions carry defined bans, after which eligibility may return by operation of law in some circumstances. [VERIFY: confirm current temporary-ban categories and durations, including the drug-crime provision, before publishing -- note there is a recognized statutory conflict here.]
• Lifetime loss. A felony "crime of violence" as defined by statute generally results in a lifetime firearm prohibition unless rights are restored by a court. [VERIFY: confirm the crime-of-violence definition and lifetime-ban rule.]

The Domestic Violence Overlay

Even a misdemeanor-level domestic conviction can trigger a firearm ban -- and federal law adds a separate lifetime prohibition tied to qualifying domestic violence convictions that can apply regardless of the state timeline. This is one of the most common ways people are surprised to learn they are prohibited. [VERIFY: confirm the current state domestic firearm consequences and the federal 922(g)(9) overlay before publishing.]

How Rights Can Be Restored

For a lifetime state ban tied to a crime of violence, restoration generally requires a court petition under section 609.165, where a judge weighs rehabilitation and public safety, and such petitions are typically limited in how often they can be filed. Federal relief is a separate and often harder question. Expungement or a pardon can matter, but expungement of a crime of violence generally does not restore firearm rights. [VERIFY: confirm current restoration procedure, petition frequency limits, and the expungement/firearm interaction before publishing.]

What this means for you: whether you can legally possess a firearm after a conviction is a genuinely technical, two-layer question, and the penalty for getting it wrong is severe. It is worth a careful, case-specific check rather than an assumption in either direction.

Key Terms

• Crime of violence: A statutorily defined category that generally triggers a lifetime state firearm ban.
• Restoration of rights: A court process to regain firearm eligibility after a disqualifying conviction.
• 922(g): The federal statute imposing separate firearm prohibitions.
• Prohibited person: Someone barred by state or federal law from possessing firearms.