TexasCHLforum.com

RonW956 wrote:

ByrdMan wrote:Wrong. Deferred adjudication is considered a conviction for the purpose of obtaining a CHL. Federally he is fine to own a handgun, he just can't carry it on his person away from home or car.

Wow...

1. the OP said he just completed his deferred adjudication for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, basically that means he just got out of prison.

2. the OP said the charge was 2nd degree felony & that he served 3 years..

3. With that being said NO, he cannot purchase or be in possession of a firearm.

It is a federal... not state.. not local but a federal law that convicted felons cannot own, possess or purchase a firearm. Any person who actually has a CHL already knows this. In addition, no member of the family or individual that resides with a convicted felon can be in possession of a firearm.

Sorry, you are incorrect. Not every case falls in black and white on felons and firearm ownership. State laws vary on methods for individuals to have their civil rights restored, and certain methods of deferred adjudication will do that. See this for more explaination https://www.nacdl.org/uploadedFiles/fil ... arr_tx.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Also, every state is different on what they consider a firearm. For instance Texas does not consider a black powder weapon to be a firearm, so a felon may posses them. Missouri does consider it a firearm, and there have been numerous cases where felons that were no allowed to posses firearms got sent up for having a black powder weapon in their possession.

Secondly, there may not be a restriction for having firearms in the home, even if the convicted felon is ineligible to posses them. I know of a couple of different cases where the family members had firearms, but they were required to secure them in a safe that the felon did not have access to.

Beiruty wrote:

Charles L. Cotton wrote:If you have a successfully completed deferred adjudication, then is it not a conviction for federal purposes or for possessing firearms under federal or Texas law. It is a "conviction" for purposes of eligibility for a Texas CHL and since it was for a crime falling in Title 5 of the Penal Code, it is a permanent bar to getting a Texas CHL.

Chas.

Chas, if Feds do not consider a deferred adjudication as a conviction, then why Texas does so. A bill to correct that is very importantas it affects so many who were in this position. More importantly, Feds would not be contradicted by this bill. Is there any plan to introduce such a bill?

I don't necessarily disagree that the rules banning a person with a deferred adjudication of a felony under Title 5 should be reviewed and take another look.

With that said, Title 5 penal code deals with crimes against the person, such as capital murder, sexual assault, trafficking, child abuse, assault against a family member, etc. These are serious violent crimes and show a propensity for violence by the person, at least at the time of the crime. So, if there was reason enough for the judge to give deferred adjudication instead of a conviction and just probation, then maybe there is reason enough to allow the person to not only own a firearm, but to also obtain their CHL.