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The concept of gun ownership for personal protection, for hunting, or for competition shooting is central to many peoples’ ideas of freedom. While Trenton is located in a state that has limited laws concerning legal gun ownership, there are still certain criminal codes that restrict where a person may carry a firearm and for what purpose they are able to use one.
As a result, it is not uncommon for people who legally own guns to face charges alleging improper use. Of course, certain people may never legally own firearms and may face prosecution alleging illegal ownership. Finally, the use of any firearm to aid in the commission of another offense is a serious matter that could bring enhanced charges and is a crime in and of itself.
A Trenton gun lawyer could help individuals to mount effective defenses when facing charges involving the illegal use of firearms. Attorneys could help to establish a person’s legal ownership of a gun, to contest an alleged illegal use, or to dispute whether a firearm was a factor during the alleged commission of another offense.
Despite Trenton being in a state that does not require gun registration or even a firearms safety course, there are still ways that a person may illegally possess a firearm.
The most straightforward is in situations where a person cannot own a firearm under any circumstance. For example, the Official Code of Georgia Annotated §16-11-131 states that it is a felony-level offense for any person to possess a firearm who has a felony conviction on their criminal record. Similar laws prohibit people with addictions to drugs or those who are the subject of protective orders from possessing firearms.
Certain classes of firearms are illegal to own, regardless of a person’s criminal record. Under O.C.G.A. §16-11-122, a person found to be in possession of a sawed-off shotgun, a sawed-off rifle, a machine gun, a silencer, or a dangerous weapon presumably commits an offense. A Trenton gun lawyer could help to prove proper ownership of a firearm no matter the exact nature of accusation that a person may be facing.
Of course, guns have the potential to cause serious injuries or even death. As a result, the laws that control the responsible use of these weapons are harsh. At the simplest level, state law prohibits people from bringing firearms into certain locations. O.C.G.A. §16-11-127 says that it is illegal to bring a gun into:
Additionally, people must take care to avoid the illegal use of a firearm. O.C.G.A. §16-11-102 makes it a crime to merely point a gun at another person, whether that gun is loaded or not. An improper firing of a gun, while drunk, for instance, is also illegal. Finally, the use of a firearm during the commission of another offense could make the underlying offense much more serious and is a crime in and of itself that carries a separate five-year prison sentence. A Trenton gun lawyer could help to defend people facing accusations involving an illegal use of a firearm.
The ability to keep and bear arms is central to your Constitutional rights. However, state laws have placed restrictions on those rights that limit the types of guns that people may own and how they may use them. In addition, people may forfeit these rights through past criminal activity or drug abuse.
As a result, police and prosecutors may allege illegal gun ownership or simply that a person used a gun in an irresponsible way. A conviction for any of these offenses could result in the payment of a heavy fine, a jail sentence, and the forfeiting of one’s gun rights.
A Trenton gun attorney may be able to help. Attorneys work to establish your rights as a gun owner and to defeat allegations of illegal ownership. They could also work to develop defenses against cases that involve improper gun use or that attempt to tie a firearm to the scene of an offense. Contact a Trenton gun attorney today to let them get to work for you.