Licensed gun owner Donald Trump will have to turn over all of his firearms in the coming weeks now that he has been found guilty of felonies in the Manhattan “hush money” case.
Under New York state and federal law, convicted felons are banned from possessing any type of firearm, and the former president must have his weapons legally passed off to another person or surrendered to authorities by his July 11 sentencing, criminal defense attorney Peter Tilem said.
“There is no grace period,” Tilem told The Post. “You are federally prohibited once you are convicted.”
Trump could potentially pack heat once again in New York by applying for a “certificate of relief from civil disabilities” as early as his sentencing, which would restore his ability to own and carry a gun, according to criminal defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman.
The former president also would be allowed to legally possess a firearm again if an appeals court ends up overturning his convictions.
Convicted felons who’ve had their gun rights revoked can surrender their weapons at the local police precinct, experts said. Lichtman, however, predicted Trump likely will just transfer ownership of his guns to one of his sons through a federally licensed gun dealer, which costs less than $50, and wait out the appeals process.
Trump has publicly discussed his gun ownership, including in a 2012 interview with The Washington Times where he acknowledged he had a concealed-carry permit for a Heckler & Koch HK45 and a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson.
In 2016, when discussing a spate of deadly terror attacks in Paris, the 45th president reportedly told a French magazine that he is always strapped.
“I always carry a weapon on me,” he said. “If I’d been at the Bataclan [concert hall] or one of those bars, I would have opened fire.”
The former president has made defending gun rights a critical issue in his 2024 campaign, garnering the National Rifle Association’s endorsement in May.
On Thursday, a jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection to $130,000 “hush money” payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels to sway the 2016 presidential election.
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