Federal Felon in Possession Charges in Missouri: 18 U.S.C. 922(g)

Federal gun possession cases are among the most common federal charges in Missouri. The statute is 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), and it makes it a federal crime for certain categories of people, most often anyone with a prior felony conviction, to possess a firearm or ammunition.

Many of these cases begin as a state arrest: a traffic stop, a search warrant, or a call to a home. The same facts can be charged in state court under RSMo 571.070 or in federal court under § 922(g), and the federal version usually carries far more exposure. This guide covers who is prohibited, what the government has to prove, and the penalties in the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri.

• Possession. Actual possession means the gun was on the person. Most contested cases involve constructive possession: a gun found in a car, a bedroom, or a house that several people share. The government has to prove knowledge and control, not just nearness.
• Prohibited status. The person actually belonged to a prohibited category when they possessed the gun. Whether an old conviction still counts, or whether a prior was expunged, set aside, or pardoned, can decide the case.
• Knowledge of status. Since Rehaif v. United States (2019), the government must prove the person knew they belonged to the prohibited category, for example that they knew they had been convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year.
• Interstate commerce. The gun or ammunition traveled in interstate commerce at some point. Most firearms and ammunition have crossed a state line before they reach their owner, so this element is rarely the main defense, but it still has to be proven.

Many § 922(g) cases also turn on the stop or search that found the gun. If the search was unlawful, a motion to suppress can remove the gun from evidence entirely.

The 15-year maximum is the outer limit. The actual sentence is driven by the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which weigh things like the type of gun, the number of guns, whether the gun was connected to another felony, and the person’s criminal history. There is no parole in the federal system.

The Armed Career Criminal Act changes everything. Under § 924(e), a person with three prior convictions for a “violent felony” or “serious drug offense,” committed on different occasions, faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years, with no probation. Whether a prior Missouri conviction qualifies is a technical legal question, and it is one of the most heavily litigated questions in federal criminal law. Since Erlinger v. United States (2024), a jury, not the judge, must decide whether the prior offenses were committed on different occasions, unless the defendant waives that right.

A gun connected to a drug trafficking crime is charged differently. Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, or possessing one in furtherance of it, under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), carries a mandatory consecutive sentence on top of the drug sentence.

Missouri legalized medical and then recreational marijuana, but federal law still treats marijuana as a controlled substance. Section 922(g)(3) prohibits an “unlawful user” of a controlled substance from possessing a firearm, and the federal firearm purchase form asks the question directly. Answering it falsely is its own federal crime.

Whether § 922(g)(3) can constitutionally be applied to a particular marijuana user has been actively litigated in the federal courts since the Supreme Court’s recent Second Amendment decisions, and the law in this area is still developing. Anyone in this position should get advice on the current state of the law before buying or keeping a firearm.