Federal law establishes a baseline national standard regarding individuals’ eligibility to acquire and possess firearms. Under federal law, people are generally prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms if they have been convicted of a felony or some domestic violence misdemeanors, or if they are subject to certain court orders related to domestic violence or a serious mental condition. However, federal law merely provides a floor, and has notable gaps that allow individuals who have demonstrated significant risk factors for violence or self-harm to legally acquire and possess guns.
Oklahoma law generally prohibits knowingly transferring a firearm to:
- A person who has been convicted of a felony;1
- A person who has been adjudicated delinquent;2
- A person under the influence of alcohol or drugs;3 or
- Any person who is under adjudication of mental incompetency or who has otherwise been found mentally unfit by a court.4
A person who has been convicted of a felony may not have a handgun “imitation or homemade pistol, altered air or toy pistol, machine gun, sawed-off shotgun or rifle, or any other dangerous or deadly firearm.”5
Furthermore, a person serving a term of probation for any felony may not possess or control a handgun, “shotgun or rifle, including any imitation or homemade pistol, altered air or toy pistol [or] shotgun or rifle.”6
Finally, any person previously adjudicated as a delinquent child or youthful offender for the commission of an offense which would have constituted a felony if committed by an adult may not have a handgun, “imitation or homemade pistol, altered air or toy pistol, machine gun, sawed-off shotgun or rifle, or any other dangerous or deadly firearm within ten…years after such adjudication.”7
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