In North Carolina the Felony Firearms Act makes it illegal for anyone who has been previously convicted of a felony to purchase, own, possess or have in his custody, care or control a gun or any other weapon of mass death and destruction. A felony conviction is a conviction of a crime that is possibly punishable by incarceration of more than a year, regardless of the sentence that a person may have received or served.
Possession of Firearm by A Felon can be found in N.C.G.S. 14-415.1. This charge is a Class G Felony and could receive an active sentence.
Based upon the Felony Firearms Act, a resident of North Carolina with a single nonviolent felony conviction may petition in district court for a restoration of their right to possess a firearm, if they have had their civil rights restored after completing all their terms of their sentence for at least 20 years. In order to have your civil rights restored, a person must have completed all terms of their sentence which includes fines, restitution and supervised release.
Often when dealing with Federal Charges there is a Federal Enhancement which is known as the "Armed Career Criminal Act" and it imposes a minimum of 15 years imprisonment for individuals that are convicted of possession of a firearm when they have three underlying state or federal convictions for violent felonies or severe drug offenses. The only exception that is included under this statute is that a person' who has had past felonies but they have been expunged from the person's record would not count toward the "Armed Career Criminal Act" unless there was a specific provision in their expungement to the contrary.
There are sever penalties that exist with being convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. The statutes over time have made it more difficult for a person with a criminal background to purchase, own, possess or have in its custody, care or control a gun or any other weapon of mass death and destruction lawfully.