Source: law/18usc922.law
law 18usc922 cite 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) title Firearm possession by prohibited persons url https://www.neochart.com/catalog/federal/title_18/section_922/title18_sec922_f21ab5943db6/922_unlawful_acts_0001/index.html address catalog/federal/title_18/section_922/title18_sec922_f21ab5943db6/922_unlawful_acts_0001/index.html source ir/usc/title18.jsonl#title18_sec922 sha1=4da951cbeec7dea3e3c47f956283f9acaaaca641 chars=56256 claim 922(g)-possession : (status.g9 | (status & !government-use)) & possession & object & commerce-possession & knowledge-possession & knowledge-status & !hemani-as-applied gloss Section 922(g) possession requires an actual statutory disqualification at the time of knowing possession, knowledge of the relevant status, a firearm or ammunition, and the commerce nexus. Each status category is an alternative, not a cumulative checklist. Rehaif supplies the knowledge rule through the companion penalty provision; knowledge that federal law prohibits possession is a different question. claim 922(g)-shipment : (status.g9 | (status & !government-use)) & shipment & object & knowledge-conduct & knowledge-status gloss Statutory-element formula only; separately assess any applicable constitutional defense (Hemani decided possession). Separate shipping/transporting branch: conduct itself must occur in interstate or foreign commerce. Rehaif concerned possession; its conduct/status principle informs this branch, but the six local opinions principally develop possession. claim 922(g)-receipt : (status.g9 | (status & !government-use)) & receipt & object & commerce-receipt & knowledge-conduct & knowledge-status gloss Statutory-element formula only; separately assess any applicable constitutional defense (Hemani decided possession). Separate receipt branch requires prior interstate or foreign movement of the object; it must not replace the possession branch commerce wording. element status : or name One applicable prohibited category text @16129..16168 | (g) It shall be unlawful for any person gloss Children status.g1 through status.g9 are alternative categories. Section 921 definitions and exclusions qualify the conviction categories; status.g5visa incorporates the statutory visa exemption. A categorical status list is not the categorical crime-of-violence method used in section 924(c). Constitutional challenges remain separate from proof of these statutory elements. element status.g1 : and name Conviction punishable by more than one year text @16170..16279 | (1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; xref 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) | Conviction definition excludes specified business-regulation offenses and state misdemeanors punishable by two years or less; expungement, set-aside, pardon and civil-rights restoration rules include a firearms restriction proviso. rule /f3d/935/0838-01 @12584..12849 | Accordingly, we consider McAdory's prior convictions to have been "punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year," such that they would serve as predicates under § 922(g)(1), only if McAdory's convictions actually exposed him to sentences of that length. gloss McAdory applies the Ninth Circuit rule to Washington mandatory sentencing ranges; the actual sentence served alone is not the test, nor is the state felony label conclusive. rule /us/544/0385-01 @492..568 | We hold that the phrase encompasses only domestic, not foreign, convictions. gloss Small, 544 U.S. 385, 387 (2005), judicially construes convicted in any court in section 922(g)(1) to exclude foreign convictions; this is not a textual exclusion enacted in section 921(a)(20). element status.g2 : and name Fugitive from justice text @16280..16315 | (2) who is a fugitive from justice; xref 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(15) | Person who fled a State to avoid criminal prosecution or giving testimony in a criminal proceeding. Flight from a State and the specified avoidance purpose qualify this status; an outstanding warrant alone is not the statutory definition. element status.g3 : or name Unlawful controlled-substance user or addict text @16316..16464 | (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)); element status.g3.user : and name Current unlawful use with the applicable temporal nexus text @16327..16343 | an unlawful user rule /f3d/264/0809-01 @8170..8434 | We emphasize, however, that to sustain a con-vietion under § 922(g)(3), the government must prove — as it did here — that the defendant took drugs with regularity, over an extended period of time, and contemporaneously with his purchase or possession of a firearm. xref 27 C.F.R. § 478.11, unlawful user definition | Regulatory definition addresses current unlawful use sufficiently recent to indicate active engagement; use need not occur at the precise moment of possession. Its evidentiary examples are not conclusive criminal presumptions. gloss Purdy, 264 F.3d 809, 812-13 (9th Cir. 2001), supplies a Ninth Circuit statutory construction in an as-applied vagueness decision. Apply the governing circuit's formulation and proof beyond reasonable doubt; this is not a nationwide fixed lookback period. It defines the user branch, not the alternative addiction branch. Hemani's Second Amendment question remains separate. element status.g3.addict : and name Addiction alternative text @16347..16386 | or addicted to any controlled substance xref 27 C.F.R. § 478.11, unlawful user or addict definition | Addiction concerns use accompanied by loss of self-control with reference to the substance; do not require the user branch's particular circuit formulation as an extra element of addiction. element status.g4 : or name Qualifying mental adjudication or commitment text @16465..16566 | (4) who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution; element status.g4.adjudication : and name Qualifying determination by lawful authority text @16473..16515 | has been adjudicated as a mental defective xref 27 C.F.R. § 478.11, adjudicated as a mental defective | Court, board, commission, or other lawful authority determines that a qualifying mental condition causes danger to self or others, or incapacity to contract or manage one's affairs. Includes a criminal insanity finding and specified military incompetency or lack-of-mental-responsibility findings. gloss Regulatory definition of section 922(g)(4), not text from section 921(a)(4), which defines destructive device. A diagnosis alone does not establish the required adjudication. Apply any valid statutory relief or record-disregard provision before treating the disability as operative. element status.g4.commitment : and name Formal commitment by lawful authority text @16523..16565 | has been committed to a mental institution xref 27 C.F.R. § 478.11, committed to a mental institution | Formal commitment by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority; includes involuntary commitment for mental defectiveness, mental illness, or other reasons such as drug use. Excludes voluntary admission and observation alone. gloss The regulation supplies an administrative definition; applicable judicial interpretation and statutory relief still govern. The institution must qualify under the regulation's mental-institution definition, not merely be a treatment location. element status.g5unlawful : and name Alien illegally or unlawfully present text @16592..16647 | (A) is illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or gloss Applies to a person who is an alien; subparagraphs (A) and (B) are alternative grounds. The visa exemption affects (B), not independent disqualifying statuses. element status.g5visa : and name Nonimmigrant-visa admission subject to section 922(y)(2) text @16648..16868 | (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))); gloss Applies to a person who is an alien; subparagraphs (A) and (B) are alternative grounds. The visa exemption affects (B), not independent disqualifying statuses. xref 18 U.S.C. § 922(y)(2)-(3) | Hunting/sporting or hunting-license, qualifying official representative, designated foreign visitor, and official foreign law-enforcement exceptions; Attorney General waiver subject to statutory conditions. element status.g6 : and name Dishonorable military discharge text @16869..16949 | (6) who has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions; element status.g7 : and name Renounced United States citizenship text @16950..17033 | (7) who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship; element status.g8 : and name Qualifying domestic-protection order text @17034..17075 | (8) who is subject to a court order that- gloss Requires all of (A), (B), and either (C)(i) or (C)(ii); the bare existence of any restraining order is insufficient. Rahimi (2024) permits temporary disarmament when a court has found a credible physical-safety threat; see NOTES for current-law boundary. element status.g8.hearing : and name Actual notice and opportunity to participate text @17076..17211 | (A) was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice, and at which such person had an opportunity to participate; element status.g8.restraint : and name Protected domestic person and prohibited conduct text @17212..17485 | (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; xref 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(32) | Intimate partner means a spouse, former spouse, co-parent of a child, or person who cohabits or has cohabited with the respondent. This definition differs from the separate section 921(a)(33)/(37) dating-relationship provisions for misdemeanor domestic violence. element status.g8.threat-or-force : or name Threat finding or explicit force prohibition text @17490..17622 | (C)(i) includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child; or text @17623..17821 | (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 element status.g9 : and name Misdemeanor crime of domestic violence text @17822..17906 | (9) who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, xref 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33) | Qualifying misdemeanor force/deadly-weapon element, domestic relationship, representation/jury protections and conviction-relief exclusions; use the current definition for covered dating relationships. rule /us/555/0415-01 @758..962 | We hold that the domestic relationship, although it must be established beyond a reasonable doubt in a § 922(g)(9) firearms possession prosecution, need not be a defining element of the predicate offense. element possession : or name Actual or constructive possession text @17966..18025 | possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition rule /f3d/934/0854-01 @8766..8941 | Constructive possession means that a person "has ownership, dominion or control over the [firearm] itself, or dominion over the premises in which the [firearm] is concealed ." variant actual/control | Physical control of the object. variant constructive/control | Knowing control without physical custody; Gilliam found no continued dominion after leaving the gun in another person's exclusive possession. Apply the circuit's power-and-intent requirements; proximity alone does not supply knowing control. element object : and name Firearm or ammunition under section 921 text @18000..18025 | any firearm or ammunition xref 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3), (16), (17) | Firearm includes defined weapons, frames/receivers, silencers and destructive devices but excludes antique firearms; ammunition has its separate statutory definition. element commerce-possession : and name Possession in or affecting commerce text @17966..18025 | possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition rule /f4th/142/1270 @42908..43211 | We have also rejected as-applied challenges to § 922(g), holding that the government demonstrates the required “minimal nexus” to interstate commerce when it proves that the firearms were manufactured outside the state where the offense took place and, thus, necessarily traveled in interstate commerce. not-required Knowledge of the interstate-commerce nexus; Rehaif distinguishes this jurisdictional element from conduct and status (official opinion, pp. 4-5; NOTES). element knowledge-possession : and name Knowledge of possessing the firearm or ammunition text @17966..18025 | possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition rule /f4th/142/872 @26750..27121 | To prove guilt under § 922(g)(1), the government was otherwise required prove beyond a reasonable doubt that: (i) the defendant had a prior felony conviction, (ii) the defendant knew that he had a prior felony conviction, (iii) the defendant thereafter knowingly possessed the firearm specified in the indictment, and (iv) the firearm had traveled in interstate commerce. element knowledge-status : and name Knowledge of the relevant disqualifying status text @16129..16168 | (g) It shall be unlawful for any person rule /f4th/143/169 @40794..41194 | The magistrate judge explicitly stated to Thompson at his plea hearing that in addition to proving that he “knowingly possessed the firearm and ammunition as charged in the indictment,” “the government would [also] have to prove that [Thompson was] convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year and that [he] knew [he] had been convicted of such a crime.” xref 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(8); formerly § 924(a)(2) | The penalty provision supplies knowingly. Rehaif, 588 U.S. 225 (2019), requires knowledge of possession and status; the 2022 amendment moved section 922(g) to (a)(8), with a fifteen-year maximum. gloss Rehaif expressly reserved the precise proof needed for statuses other than the one before it; do not infer that awareness of every legal consequence or the federal firearms ban is required. Status knowledge must coincide with the relevant conduct. element shipment : and name Ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce text @17907..17961 | to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce element receipt : and name Receipt of the prohibited object text @18030..18138 | to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce element commerce-receipt : and name Received object previously shipped or transported across borders text @18067..18138 | which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce element knowledge-conduct : and name Knowing shipping, transportation or receipt text @17907..17961 | to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce xref 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(8) | Knowing violation requirement; no independent proof of knowledge of federal jurisdiction is imposed here. defense hemani-as-applied : defense name Second Amendment limit on the unlawful-user theory applied to Hemani text @16316..16464 | (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)); rule /cl/10876933 @49204..49401 | And faced with all these short- comings in the government’s submission, we cannot say it has carried its conceded burden of showing its prosecution of Mr. Hemani complies with the Second Amendment. gloss Hemani (June 18, 2026), majority pp. 18-19, rejects automatically disarming this regular marijuana user based solely on that status under the government's historical-analogy theory. It reserves addicts, present intoxication, individualized dangerousness proof, particular dangerous drugs, and section 922(g)(1). This is an as-applied constitutional limitation, not textual deletion of status.g3 or a universal dangerousness element. It does not defeat liability independently established under a different prohibited status. exception government-use : exception name Section 925(a)(1) government-use firearm or ammunition exception effect bars-liability Applies to covered section 922(g)(1)-(8) conduct, never section 922(g)(9). text @16129..16168 | (g) It shall be unlawful for any person xref 18 U.S.C. § 925(a)(1) | Chapter exemption for transportation, shipment, receipt, possession, or importation of firearms/ammunition imported for, sold or shipped to, or issued for use of the United States or its departments/agencies, or a State or its departments/agencies/political subdivisions. Expressly excepts sections 922(d)(9), 922(g)(9), and provisions relating to firearms prohibited by section 922(p). gloss This is an object-and-conduct-specific statutory exception, not blanket immunity for government employees or privately owned service weapons. Each claim keeps an independent status.g9 route even when government-use is present; the exception cannot override section 922(p). No section 925 offset is invented: the text line is the section 922(g) hook, and the official companion section supplies the exception via xref.