Abstract
Under the Eighth Circuit's analysis and Missouri law, a person who did not go to jail following a domestic violence conviction may be forever barred from possessing a firearm, while a person who did serve jail time will be able to possess a firearm upon completion of the sentence.4 Several circuits have adopted the Eighth Circuit's reasoning. Others have attempted to avoid similarly odd results.5 For example, the First and Sixth Circuits have held that persons who have not lost their civil rights under state law may, nevertheless, be treated as having them restored in order to qualify for the restoration exception. 6 In United States v. Kirchoff, the Eighth Circuit reaffirmed its position; as a result, application of the Domestic Violence Gun Ban, its restoration exception, and Missouri law continue to give firearms privileges to previously incarcerated domestic abusers while denying firearms privileges to domestic abusers whose behavior did not warrant a sentence of confinement. 7
Recommended Citation
Natalie J. Nichols,
Eighth Circuit Revisits Restoration Exception to Domestic Violence Gun Ban and Says Restore Means Restore,
71 Mo. L. Rev.
(2006)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol71/iss1/13