The laws regarding firearms and domestic violence are quite harsh. Under the 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), it is illegal for those who have been convicted of a domestic-violence related incident, or who have an order of protection against them, to possess a firearm. Federal law prohibits those convicted from the shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving of firearms or ammunition. This law is quite strict; military and law enforcement personnel are NOT exempt from this law, even if they carry weapons when they are on duty. Local branches of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) can answer further questions about this law.

It is also illegal for a person to possess a firearm while subject to a court order restraining that person from harassing, stalking or threatening an intimate partner or the child of an intimate partner. Furthermore, it is also illegal to transfer a firearm to a person subject to such an order.

Finally, it is illegal to possess a firearm after conviction of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. This prohibition applies to all persons convicted of such misdemeanors at any time, even if the conviction occurred prior to the new law's effective date, in 1996. The law also makes it illegal to possess a firearm or ammunition, if the individual is subject to an order of protection or if the individual has been convicted of a misdemeanor domestic assault.