Know the Laws: Alaska
UPDATED October 29, 2012
Please consider getting in touch with a domestic violence advocate in your community for more information on gun laws in your area. To find help, please click on the Where to Find Help tab at the top of this page.
- Basic Info
- Guns and Protective Orders
- Guns and Criminal Convictions
- More Information and Where to Get Help
Basic Info
back to topI am a victim of domestic violence and the abuser has a gun. Do I have legal options for getting the gun away from him/her?
Yes. If you have a final protective order against the abuser that meets certain requirements, or if the abuser has been convicted of a felony, then federal law states that it is illegal for the abuser to buy, own or have a gun in his/her possession.*
In addition, Alaska state law says that if a person used (or had in his/her possession) a deadly weapon while committing a crime involving domestic violence, the judge should order that the gun be taken away and given to the commissioner of public safety or a law enforcement agency.**
If you are not sure if the abuser has been convicted of a crime involving domestic violence, see What is the legal definition of domestic violence?
* Note: Although federal law also prohibits owning or buying a gun if the abuser is convicted of a "domestic violence misdemeanor," none of Alaska's domestic violence misdemeanors have the 'intentional' element that is required under current case law to meet the federal definition. Therefore, a conviction for a domestic violence misdemeanor in Alaska may not make it illegal for an abuser to own or buy a gun under federal law. See United States v. Nobriga, 474 F.3d 561 (9th Cir. Ct App., 2006); see also 18 USC § 922(g)(8) & (9).
** Alaska Statute § 12.55.015(f)
back to topIf the abuser's gun is taken away, what will happen to it?
If the abuser has been convicted of a crime involving domestic violence and the court orders the gun to be given to a law enforcement agency, the gun will most likely be destroyed or resold. It should not be returned to the abuser.*
If you have a protective order against the abuser, and s/he has not been convicted of a crime, the gun will most likely be stored until the protective order expires, or until the court orders that the gun be returned.
* See Alaska Statute § 12.55.015(f)