Federal law prohibits certain persons from purchasing or possessing firearms, such as felons, certain domestic abusers, and certain people with a history of mental illness.

Missouri prohibits the possession of a firearm by:

• Any person convicted of a felony under Missouri law or a crime under any state’s laws or federal law which, if committed in Missouri, would be classified as a felony;
• A fugitive from justice;
• A person habitually in an intoxicated or drugged condition; or
• A person currently adjudged mentally incompetent.¹

Missouri law allows a person who is intoxicated to possess a firearm as long as he or she does not handle or use it in a negligent or unlawful manner or discharge the weapon (except when acting in self-defense). Intoxicated persons may also possess a firearm that is: 1) not readily accessible; 2) transported in a nonfunctioning state; or 3) unloaded when ammunition is not readily accessible.²

See our Prohibited Purchasers policy summary for a comprehensive discussion of this issue.

1. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.070.1. [↩]
2. Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 571.030.1(5), 571.030.3, 571.030.5. [↩]