If a person has a conviction for a felony, Wisconsin statute
943.38(1)(a), in Wisconsin in 1994, released from probation in 1996,
with no other convictions, and that person presently lives in Kansas.
May that person own and use a firearm within Kansas?

---

Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 01 Jan 2005 16:50 PST

In Kansas the law is a bit different than in many other states. The
answer depends on what (exactly) that person had been convicted of in
Wisconsin.

tutuzdad-ga

Dear m00s3-ga;

Assuming you?d rather not divulge too much information about ?this
person?s? criminal past here in a public forum, let me point out that
you will find your answer in Kansas Statute No. 21-4204. It is
important to knote that Kansas DOES INDEED recognize felony
convictions from other states, but there are some relatively
complicated exceptions to Kansas' statutes regarding the matter. You
can compare what you already know about ?this person?s? criminal
history to the information below:

21-4204
Chapter 21.--CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
PART II.--PROHIBITED CONDUCT
Part 2.--Prohibited Conduct
Article 42.--CRIMES AGAINST THEPUBLIC SAFETY
21-4204.	Criminal possession of a firearm.
http://www.kslegislature.org/cgi-bin/statutes/index.cgi/21-4204.html

To summarize, this statute says that a person MAY NOT legally own or
possess a firearm in Kansas if he:

Has EVER been convicted of a person felony (a felonious crime against
a person) AND was found to have been in possession of a firearm at the
time of the commission of the offense.

Or

Has EVER been convicted of a felony violation of any provision of the
uniform controlled substances act under the laws of Kansas or a crime
under a law of another jurisdiction which is substantially the same as
such felony or violation, AND was found to have been in possession of
a firearm at the time of the commission of the offense.

Or

Was EVER adjudicated a juvenile offender because of the commission of
an act, which if done by an adult would constitute the commission of a
person felony or a violation of any provision of the uniform
controlled substances act, AND was found to have been in possession of
a firearm at the time of the commission of the offense.

Or

If he is BOTH addicted to AND an unlawful user of a controlled substance.

Or 

Has been released from imprisonment for ANY felony within the past 5 years.

Or

Within the preceding FIVE YEARS has been convicted of any felony,
OTHER THAN those specified below, under the laws of Kansas or a crime
under a law of another jurisdiction that is substantially the same as
such felony.

21-3401. - Murder in the first degree 
21-3402. - Murder in the second degree
21-3403. - Voluntary manslaughter, 
21-3404  - Involuntary manslaughter
21-3410. - Aggravated assault
21-3411. - Aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer. 
21-3414. - Aggravated battery.
21-3415. - Aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer
21-3419. - Criminal threat.
21-3420. - Kidnapping
21-3421. - Aggravated kidnapping
21-3427. - Aggravated robbery
21-3502. - Rape
21-3506. - Aggravated criminal sodomy
21-3518. - Aggravated sexual battery
21-3716. - Aggravated burglary
65-4127a - Controlled substance statutes
65-4127b - Controlled substance statutes
65-4160 through 65-4164 Pharmacy statutes
2003 Supp. 21-3442 Involuntary manslaughter while driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs


Or

Has been convicted of, OR released from imprisonment any time within
TEN YEARS for ANY of the following offenses and amendments thereto, or
a crime under a law of another jurisdiction which is substantially the
same as such felony; has been released from imprisonment for such
felony, or was adjudicated as a juvenile offender because of the
commission of an act which if done by an adult would constitute the
commission of such felony, was found not to have been in possession of
a firearm at the time of the commission of the offense, AND has not
had the conviction of such crime expunged or been pardoned for such
crime; OR (B) a nonperson felony under the laws of Kansas or a crime
under the laws of another jurisdiction which is substantially the same
as such nonperson felony, has been released from imprisonment for such
nonperson felony OR was adjudicated as a juvenile offender because of
the commission of an act which if done by an adult would constitute
the commission of a nonperson felony, AND was found to have been in
possession of a firearm at the time of the commission of the offense

21-3401. - Murder in the first degree 
21-3402. - Murder in the second degree
21-3403. - Voluntary manslaughter, 
21-3404  - Involuntary manslaughter
21-3410. - Aggravated assault
21-3411. - Aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer. 
21-3414. - Aggravated battery.
21-3415. - Aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer
21-3419. - Criminal threat.
21-3420. - Kidnapping
21-3421. - Aggravated kidnapping
21-3427. - Aggravated robbery
21-3502. - Rape
21-3506. - Aggravated criminal sodomy
21-3518. - Aggravated sexual battery
21-3716. - Aggravated burglary
65-4127a - Controlled substance statutes
65-4127b - Controlled substance statutes
65-4160 through 65-4164 Pharmacy statutes
2003 Supp. 21-3442 Involuntary manslaughter while driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs


Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions
about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating
the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final comments
and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank
you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher


INFORMATION SOURCES

KANSAS LEGISLATURE
http://www.kslegislature.org/cgi-bin/statutes/index.cgi


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINES USED:

Google ://www.google.com




SEARCH TERMS USED:

Kansas

Law

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Felon

Felony 

Conviction

---

Request for Answer Clarification by m00s3-ga on 01 Jan 2005 22:05 PST

I am having trouble interpreting your answer.

This is the only conviction on the person's record ever anywhere. The
person was 20 years old at the time of conviction and there were no
firearms involved in the crime or drugs.

Wisconsin statute states:
943.38
943.38 Forgery.  
943.38(1)
(1) Whoever with intent to defraud falsely makes or alters a writing
or object of any of the following kinds so that it purports to have
been made by another, or at another time, or with different
provisions, or by authority of one who did not give such authority, is
guilty of a Class H felony:
 
943.38(1)(a)
(a)  A writing or object whereby legal rights or obligations are
created, terminated or transferred, or any writing commonly relied
upon in business or commercial transactions as evidence of debt or
property rights;

--------------------------
I am unclear on what a person felony is in your answer.

If I am reading your answer correctly then and I assume that a person
felony is one which involves rape or assault, which would not apply to
this person, then the answer would be yes, they can. I would like to
be sure on this before running down to the gun store as trying to
purchase a firearm if not allowed is a crime.

---

Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 02 Jan 2005 11:29 PST

Dear m00s3-ga;

I was afraid you might be a bit confused by the answer, which is why I
warned that it is a bit complicated.

A "person felony" in Kansas is a classification of crime committed
against other people. Some states have what are referred to as
"property crimes" (such as vandalism, trespassing and the like). These
are called "nonperson" crimes in Kansas. When another person is
victimized, this is called a "person" crime. In Kansas there are
"person felonies" and "person misdemeanors".

I hope that clears up that issue.

Now, as for the forgery conviction in Wisconsin, the following statute
is Kansas' criminal equivilent:

K.S.A. Chapter 21 - Article 37 
CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY 
21-3710. Forgery. 
http://www.kscoplaw.com/crimcode/Article37.htm#21-3710

Clearly you can see that it is listed as a "property crime" (nonperson
crime) rather than a "person" crime, so the point here is moot.
Forgery is not one of the crimes mentioned in the list of prior in the
Kansas statute "21-4204 Criminal possession of a firearm.".

Therefore, according to this statute, it does appear that if a person
with a forgery conviction may legally own a firearm as long as his
conviction or release from imprisonment was greater than 5 years ago.

As with all legal questions however, I encourage you to contact the
Kansas Attorney General's Office before taking any action based solely
upon this information or seek the guidance of an attorney licensed to
practice law in the State of Kansas.

Kansas Attorney General's Office 
http://www.ksag.org/

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

Very thorough and informative.

I understand the question was asked pertaining to Kansas law however
Federal law also comes into play with firearms that have affected
interstate commerce - which is about every firearm in the United
States.

The following is from United States Code Title 18 Section 922 

It shall be unlawful for any person -
        (1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable
      by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
        (2) who is a fugitive from justice;
        (3) who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled
      substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances
      Act (21 U.S.C. 802));
        (4) who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has
      been committed to a mental institution;
        (5) who, being an alien -
          (A) is illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or
          (B) except as provided in subsection (y)(2), has been
        admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa (as
        that term is defined in section 101(a)(26) of the Immigration
        and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(26)));
        (6) who has been discharged from the Armed Forces under
      dishonorable conditions;
        (7) who, having been a citizen of the United States, has
      renounced his citizenship;
        (8) who is subject to a court order that -
          (A) was issued after a hearing of which such person received
        actual notice, and at which such person had an opportunity to
        participate;
          (B) restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or
        threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such
        intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that
        would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily
        injury to the partner or child; and
          (C)(i) includes a finding that such person represents a
        credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner
        or child; or
          (ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted
        use, or threatened use of physical force against such intimate
        partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause
        bodily injury; or
        (9) who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime
      of domestic violence,
    to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess
    in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive
    any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in
    interstate or foreign commerce.

The Supreme Court has decided many cases where the "in or affecting
commerce" issue has come up. In my opinion, the only way you could
legally possess a firearm would be if you made it yourself from parts
that were not transported across the state line.


United States Code Title 18 section 922
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/ts_search.pl?title=18&sec=922

Cases to look at --
SCARBOROUGH v. UNITED STATES, 431 U.S. 563 (1977)
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=431&invol=563

 In a prosecution for possession of a firearm in violation of the
provision of Title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets
Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. App. 1202 (a), making it a crime for a
convicted felon to possess "in commerce or affecting commerce" any
firearm, proof that the possessed firearm previously traveled at some
time in interstate commerce held sufficient to satisfy the statutorily
required nexus between possession and commerce. This is so, where, as
in this case, the firearm in question traveled in interstate commerce
before the accused became a convicted felon; the nexus need not be
"contemporaneous" with the possession. Both the text and legislative
history of the statute show a congressional intent to require no more
than the minimal nexus that the firearm have been, at some time, in
interstate commerce and to outlaw possession broadly, with little
concern for when the nexus with commerce occurred. Pp. 567-577.

539 F.2d 331, affirmed. 

BARRETT v. UNITED STATES, 423 U.S. 212  (1976),
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=423&invol=212

 The provision of the Gun Control Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. 922 (h),
making it unlawful for a convicted felon, inter alia, "to receive any
firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in
interstate or foreign commerce," held to apply to a convicted felon's
intrastate purchase from a retail dealer of a firearm that previously,
but independently of the felon's receipt, had been transported in
interstate commerce from the manufacturer to a distributor and then
from the distributor to the dealer. Pp. 215-225.

504 F.2d 629, affirmed. 
 

United States v. Bass, 404 U.S. 336  (1971).
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=404&invol=336

 Respondent was convicted of possessing firearms in violation of 1202
(a) (1) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, which
provides that a person convicted of a felony "who receives, possesses,
or transports in commerce or affecting commerce . . . any firearm . .
." shall be punished as prescribed therein. The indictment did not
allege and no attempt was made to show that the firearms involved had
been possessed "in commerce or affecting commerce," the Government
contending that the statute does not require proof of a connection
with interstate commerce in individual cases involving possession or
receipt. Doubting its constitutionality if the statute were thus
construed, the Court of Appeals reversed. Held: It is not clear from
the language and legislative history of 1202 (a) (1) whether or not
receipt or possession of a firearm by a convicted felon has to be
shown in an individual prosecution to have been connected with
interstate commerce. The ambiguity of this provision (which is not
only a criminal statute but one whose broad construction would define
as a federal offense conduct readily proscribed by the States), must
therefore be resolved in favor of the narrower reading that a nexus
with interstate commerce must be shown with respect to all three
offenses embraced by the provision. Pp. 339-351.

434 F.2d 1296, affirmed.