What Rights Do Felons Lose?

What Rights Do Felons Lose?

A felony conviction doesn't end with doing time or completing probation or parole. Once you have a felony record, you lose certain rights, sometimes forever, other times until you petition to have those rights returned to you. In some cases, the determination about which rights can be returned is up to the individual state. Others are Federally mandated, like not being allowed to possess a gun. Examples of the rights you can lose as a felon include:

Gun Possession: With rare exceptions, once you are a felon you forever give up the right to possess a gun. In addition to gun ownership, you are also banned from being around guns at home or from using them for sport. For instance, if your roommate brings a gun into the house you could find yourself charged with felon in possession of a gun, simply because you had access to it in the home. In addition, you cannot go to the local gun range and participate in target practice with friends, nor can you go hunting or be in a vehicle with someone who has a gun with them. In some states, possession of bullets, shells or shell casings is the same as having the gun and can get you arrested.  Recent legislation in some states provides for restoration of gun ownership rights, under certain conditions.

Right to Vote:  Whether or not you can vote depends upon which state convicted you. Kentucky only restores your voting rights if you get a pardon from the governor. South Dakota allows you to register to vote as soon as you have completed your sentence, including any probation or parole. In Wyoming, if you are a non-violent felon, you can register to vote five years after your sentence is complete. If, however, you are deemed a violent felon, only the governor can restore that right to you. Each state sets its own requirements for convicted felons to get their voting rights back for state and federal elections. A few states never allow a convicted felon to vote again

Professional Licensing: In some states, you will not be allowed to get licensed or will lose your current professional license. Examples of licenses at risk include: Real estate, attorney, midwife, private detective, pharmacist, psychologist, new home construction contractor, radiology technicians, insurance, electrician and plumbing. Federal law does not require this, but your individual state laws may.

Adoption and Fostering: You will be denied for adoption of a child or fostering children if your felony involved use of a gun, or if your conviction was for harming a child, selling drugs within the past five years, a violent crime, or anything that caused a juvenile to make immoral decisions.

Public Housing: Lifetime sex offender registrants and anyone convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine on public housing property is forever banned from living in a Section 8 residence. Each public housing authority makes its own rules outside of those two exceptions. For instance, the New York City Housing Authority allows a felon to apply five years after completing the sentence.