Can I own a gun if I was convicted of a Felony?

Can I own a gun if I was convicted of a federal felony offense?

Yes a convicted felon can own a firearm if the conviction was based on a nonviolent felony. Recently, the Third Circuit ruled the Second Amendment protects those convicted of nonviolent felonies.

Specifically, the Third Circuit ruled en bank that a nonviolent conviction from the mid-1990s shouldn’t interfere with a man’s right to arm himself, doubling down on a previous finding that was vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court. In it’s 13-2 ruling, the appellate court reversed a federal court decision that barred [petitioner] from gun ownership after he was convicted of fraudulently obtaining over $2000 in food stamps approximately three decades ago. The circuit court was in favor of reinstating Second Amendment rights to [petition], who plead guilty to welfare fraud in 1995, was sentenced to probation and was unknowingly stripped of those rights by federal law because the crime was punishable by over a year in prison.

This successful challenge further clarifies the decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, where in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that U.S. citizens can only be stripped of their Second Amendment rights if a firearm regulation is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition.