General Circular No. 001270

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource

Directors

Subject: New Disability Amendments To The Gun Control Act

Issue Date: December 20, 1996

The purpose of this General Circular is to provide information

to all State agencies hiring law enforcement officers regarding

one specific aspect of the recently enacted Omnibus

Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997. One part of the Act

amended the Gun Control Act of 1968 to make it unlawful for any

person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to

ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms or ammunition.

It also makes it unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise

dispose of a firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or

having reasonable cause to believe that the recipient has been

convicted of such a misdemeanor. This new prohibition applies

to all law enforcement officers.

As defined in the Act, a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence

means an offense that:

1. is a misdemeanor under Federal or State law; and

2. has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical

force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed by a

current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim, by

a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a

person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim

as a spouse, parent, or guardian, or by a person similarly

situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim.

In addition, the Act amended the Gun Control Act so that

employees of government agencies convicted of qualifying

misdemeanors would not be exempt from this new disability with

respect to their receipt or possession of firearms or

ammunition. Thus, law enforcement officers and other

government officials who have been convicted of a qualifying

misdemeanor will not be able to lawfully possess or receive

firearms or ammunition for any purpose, including performing

their official duties.

In view of this amendments effect on law enforcement officers

employed in government agencies, your department may want to

determine if any employee who is authorized to carry a firearm

is subject to this disability and what appropriate action

should be taken.

For one who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of

domestic violence, the prohibition on the possession of

firearms and ammunition does not apply if the individual has

received a pardon for the crime, the conviction has been

expunged or set aside, or the person has had civil rights

restored (if there was a loss of civil rights) and the person

is not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms or

ammunition.

Note: Inquires may be made to your local Alcohol, Tobacco, and

Firearms office or the Firearms and Explosives Regulatory

Division at (AC 202) 927-8300.

Sincerely,

Allen H. Reynolds

Acting Director