Yes. Several gun ranges in Florida will conduct a background check on you during your first visit to the range. The range will want to conduct this as they have to ensure that you are neither a convicted felon, mentally unbalanced nor otherwise ineligible to handle a firearm.
In addition to Florida state law, federal law prohibits all felons from holding or utilizing a firearm. Furthermore, offenders found guilty of a violent criminal offense are prohibited from possessing firearms. A range can check IDs for a myriad of purposes, including age restrictions, waivers of liability, user tracking, as well as firearm authorization status.
Once you access a gun range in Florida, you will first sign a waiver that requests customers to divulge their criminal past. It is critical to be genuine when filling out this waiver, as hiding the truth is a felony act that might lead to prison time.
A gun range might decide to undertake a background check in certain instances. Once the gun range decides to perform a background investigation, they use a software that searches your files for any evidence of unlawful activity. This would include any prior arrests as well as any criminal prosecutions that were struck or brushed aside.
Prosecutions remain on your criminal record indefinitely; meanwhile quashed cases are only kept for seven years. In Florida, it is criminal for convicted felons to wield weapons, except if they have had their civil liberties returned or the gun characterizes as an antique firearm under Florida statutory provision 790.001.
Aside from that, also know that convicted felons who have been legally authorized to carry hunting weapons can only hunt with bows, crossbows, and guns throughout hunting seasons when certain gadgets are considered lawful.
Also note that the restoration of general civil rights does not in any way consist of the privilege to own, wield, or utilize a firearm. You will have to submit an application to regain firearm control, and there is an eight-year waiting period from the date the sentence expired.
How to Get Your Gun Rights Restored in Florida
In order to get your firearm privileges reinstated in Florida, you must meet the following criteria.
A convicted felon will be eligible to regain such special rights by petitioning the state’s Office of Executive Clemency. The following are the recommendations for restoring your gun ownership rights in Florida:
- You accomplished all sentences placed for your most current guilty verdict, along with all supervision requirements (e.g. probation, parole, community control, as well as any conditional release).
- It has been eight (8) years since you concluded all sentences.
- There are currently no notable detainers or financial penalties/liabilities from any judgment or traffic infringement that exceed $1,000.
- The complainant has no outstanding restitution, such as civil court decisions.
If rulings on your charge were withheld, you are not required to file a motion for executive clemency since you were not actually convicted. However, you will be unable to purchase a firearm from a federally certified dealer for the next three years.
If you have been found guilty of a federal crime, in a military trial, or in a state court, you are ineligible for having your firearm rights reinstated.
Depending on the inquiry’s findings, you might well be subjected to a clemency hearing to ascertain whether your gun rights ought to be returned. If you are awarded clemency, you would be given a certificate indicating that your gun rights have been returned. If you are refused clemency, you should wait at least two years from the time of denial before reapplying.
Conclusion
The policies and guidelines that gun ranges follow differ from one another. Not every gun range will request IDs; however, a few will conduct a thorough vetting of the client. Convicted felons might be capable of keeping their firearms and shooting at a range.
A criminal background check requires only a title, address, as well as date of birth. If the range requests for your social security number, you can bet they’ll run background checks on you.