After an arrest for domestic violence charges, you should be prepared to surrender all firearms. If your partner has a protective order against you, you cannot own, possess, purchase, receive or attempt to purchase or receive a firearm while the protective order is in effect. In fact, possession of a firearm under these circumstances is a federal offense.

Although seemingly unconstitutional, the police may remove all firearms from the home at the time you are arrested. If the police do not take the firearms from your house, you must surrender all firearms within 24 hours of being served with a protective order. After surrender, you will be required to file a receipt with the court proving that your firearm was surrendered to your local law enforcement agency or sold to a licensed gun dealer after receiving the order. If you violate the restraining order by owning or possessing a firearm, you are committing a crime that may be punishable as a felony. If owning a firearms is necessary as part of your job, and your employer is not able to temporarily assign you another position, the order may or may not be modified to allow for you to carry your firearm at work. In other words, you may lose your job. This is one more reason why retaining a skilled defense lawyer right away is vital.

In order to retrieve previously-surrendered firearms, you must file an application with the Department of Justice. Your attorney will help you fill out this paperwork to expedite retrieval of your firearms. If you have been charged with a domestic violence crime or if there is a protective order against you, it is important to speak with a skilled criminal defense attorney right away. The sooner you retain an attorney who knows the intricacies of these laws, the better chance he or she has to help you fight the charges against you and to help you retain your firearms.