Voluntary Surrender of Firearms in Hampton Roads
The voluntary surrender of firearms in Hampton Roads allows an individual to turn in their firearms to the police or other law enforcement agency. The individual makes the choice that they no longer wish to own them. They may no longer wish to have the firearms in their house because of small children or other factor making it unsafe. There may be a court ruling forbidding them to own firearms for a period of time. A person can relinquish their firearms for any reason at all and contact a driven gun attorney for any questions they need to be answered regarding this process.
How Can Someone Legally Dispose of a Firearm?
In Virginia, if a person wishes to get rid of a firearm, the wisest policy is to either sell it to a licensed firearms dealer or turn it into a local police station. An individual should not just throw a gun in the dumpster. Any gun or pawn shop that is licensed to deal in firearms can help the individual dispose of it. The point of legally disposing of firearms is to relieve the person of responsibility should the firearms ever be associated with a crime.
Expectations for Surrendering a Weapon
In some jurisdictions, the police station may take note of who turned in the firearm. Many places will demand identification because they are concerned about where the guns came from. They may require an individual’s information because if later that gun turns up as connected with a crime, they may want to talk to the individual.
An individual can turn in a firearm to a police station or sheriff’s office who will dispose of them. They can also be disposed of at a firearm’s dealer. The dealer will either purchase the firearms from the individual or make arrangements to take possession of it and contact other resources to find ways to legally and safely dispose of them.
Could Surrendering Guns Help Avoid Prosecution?
On misdemeanor charges, it may help and the prosecutor may decide that since the individual has given up firearms to show good faith, they will not follow through with charges. With felony charges, it is less likely. They may be willing to keep it as a misdemeanor instead of a felony charge in exchange for the voluntary surrender of firearms in Hampton Roads.
It depends a great deal on the jurisdiction. In some locales whether or not the individual turns the firearm in is not going to help them. Other locales may be more forgiving and give the individual an opportunity to turn in the firearms and avoid those charges. To be safe, the individual should consult an attorney who can tell them if this is a jurisdiction where surrendering firearms will likely help their case.
Seeking Advice of an Attorney
It is important to know that the voluntary surrender of firearms in Hampton Roads is not enforceable. The receiving agent can strongly suggest to the person surrendering their firearms that they also surrender their ammunition. Sensible people who wish to get rid of firearms will also want to rid themselves of ammunition.
They would be questioned as to why they want to give up that firearm and are they sure this is what they want to do. It is also important to ask them if they believe that that firearm has been used in a crime because once they turn it in, they no longer have possession of it.
If that gun is involved in a firearm crime that may connect it to the individual, there will be questions posed to the individual. If the person surrendering the firearm knows anything about it being used in a crime, they must be truthful with the police so that they need not question the individual later.