Michigan Felony Firearm: Penalties, Defenses, and Gun Rights

A Michigan felony firearm charge is a separate crime for carrying or possessing a gun while committing or attempting another felony, and a conviction adds a mandatory two years in prison for a first offense, five for a second, and ten for a third or later offense. That sentence is served in full before the sentence for the underlying felony begins, and no judge can shorten it, suspend it, or swap it for probation.¹

What the Prosecution Has to Prove

Two things: that you possessed a firearm, and that you were committing or attempting a felony at the time. The gun does not have to be fired, shown, or even seen by anyone. Having it accessible during the felony is enough.¹

Possession comes in two forms. Actual possession means the firearm was on your body. Constructive possession means it was close enough that you had both the ability and the intent to control it. Courts weigh proximity, whether you had access to the area where the gun was found, and whether evidence ties you to the firearm itself rather than only to the location.

Almost any felony can serve as the underlying offense, from armed robbery to drug trafficking to burglary. Four firearm-specific offenses are carved out and cannot be the predicate: illegal firearm sales under MCL 750.223, carrying a concealed weapon without a license under MCL 750.227, unlawful pistol transport under MCL 750.227a, and reckless discharge under MCL 750.230.¹ Those are already gun crimes, so stacking felony firearm on top would punish the same conduct twice.

How the Prison Time Stacks

The mandatory terms escalate with each conviction:

Mandatory means mandatory. The judge cannot reduce the sentence or substitute probation, and parole credit does not apply. You serve every day.

The sentence is also consecutive, and it runs first. The statute says the firearm term runs consecutively with and preceding the sentence for the underlying felony.¹ So a conviction for armed robbery carrying ten years plus a first-offense felony firearm charge means two years in prison for the gun, then ten more for the robbery. Twelve years total before any question of release.

Defenses That Actually Fit This Charge

Because the charge depends on tying you to the gun, most real defenses either break that link or get the gun thrown out as evidence.

Challenging Possession

The prosecution has to show you possessed the firearm, not just that you were near it. When a gun turns up in a shared car or a room with more than one person in it, the connection to any single person can be genuinely unclear. A defense attorney will push on whether the state can prove you knew about the weapon and had actual control over it. Any reasonable doubt about who possessed the gun can defeat the charge.

Suppressing the Gun

If police found the firearm through an illegal traffic stop, a warrantless search of a home, or a search that went beyond what a warrant allowed, a motion to suppress can keep the gun out of evidence. Without the gun, the charge usually cannot survive. Suppression motions are among the most effective tools in these cases.

Duress

Rarely, a defendant can argue that someone threatened them with immediate harm and that is the only reason they possessed the gun. The threat has to be imminent, you have to show no reasonable way out of the situation, and you have to show you would not otherwise have had the weapon. Courts set a high bar, but the defense is available where the facts support it.

What a Conviction Does to Your Gun Rights

A felony firearm conviction cuts off your right to possess firearms under both Michigan and federal law, and the two systems operate independently.

Michigan’s Two-Tier Restriction

Michigan does not impose a flat lifetime ban on felons. Under MCL 750.224f, the restriction depends on the type of felony:

Non-specified felonies: no firearms until three years after you have paid all fines, served all prison time, and completed probation or parole.²
Specified felonies: no firearms until five years after completing all conditions, and only after a court formally restores your rights through a petition.²

A felony firearm conviction almost certainly counts as a specified felony, because that category includes any felony whose elements involve unlawful possession of a firearm.² Waiting out the five years is not enough on its own. You have to petition the circuit court and prove by clear and convincing evidence that your record and reputation show you are not likely to be dangerous.³

Concealed Pistol Licenses

Michigan flatly bars anyone with a felony conviction from getting a concealed pistol license. The statute requires that the applicant have never been convicted of a felony anywhere, and it makes no exception for restored firearm rights.⁴ The only realistic route back to a CPL is to have the conviction itself set aside.

The Federal Ban

Federal law adds its own layer. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922, anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison cannot possess or purchase firearms anywhere in the United States.⁵ That ban applies regardless of what Michigan does with your state rights. Federal law does recognize an exception: if a conviction is expunged, set aside, or your civil rights are fully restored, it generally does not count, unless the restoration order expressly prohibits firearms.⁶ Michigan’s restoration and expungement processes therefore matter for federal eligibility as well as state.

Getting Your Rights Back

Restoration Petition

For felony firearm and other specified felonies, MCL 28.424 sets the process. At least five years must pass after you have paid all fines, served all imprisonment, and completed probation or parole. Then you file a petition in the circuit court in the county where you live. You can file only once in any twelve-month period, and the court charges a filing fee.³

The court grants the petition only if you prove by clear and convincing evidence that the petition is properly filed, the five years have passed, and your record and reputation show you are not likely to act in a way dangerous to public safety. In practice, that means character references, employment records, and evidence of community involvement. A judge who finds any one of these factors lacking can deny the petition.

Expungement

Michigan’s Clean Slate framework lets a person apply under MCL 780.621 to set aside up to three felony convictions, including up to two assaultive crime convictions over a lifetime.⁷ Whether felony firearm qualifies turns on how the court classifies it. The definition of “assaultive crime” for expungement purposes names certain statutes and includes a catch-all for any other violent felony. If a court treats felony firearm as a violent felony, expungement remains possible through the application process but counts toward the two-assaultive-crime lifetime cap. Automatic expungement under Clean Slate does not reach assaultive crimes, serious misdemeanors, or offenses punishable by ten or more years.⁸

A successful expungement does more than clear your public record. It can lift the federal firearm ban under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) and open the door to a concealed pistol license again. The process is contested, and courts scrutinize these petitions closely.

Federal Charges for the Same Incident

The same conduct that produces a Michigan felony firearm charge can also draw a federal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), which carries mandatory minimums starting at five years and running much higher depending on the weapon and what was done with it.⁹ Under the dual sovereignty doctrine, being prosecuted by both the state and the federal government for the same conduct does not violate double jeopardy, as the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed in Gamble v. United States (2019). Federal prosecution is most common when the underlying offense involves drug trafficking, organized crime, or activity across state lines.

Immigration Consequences for Noncitizens

For a noncitizen, a felony firearm conviction creates a separate crisis. Federal immigration law makes any noncitizen deportable for a conviction involving purchasing, selling, possessing, or carrying a firearm in violation of any law.¹⁰ This is a standalone deportation ground, independent of whether the offense also qualifies as an aggravated felony or a crime of moral turpitude. Even a first conviction can trigger removal proceedings, and the defenses that work in criminal court have no effect on the immigration case.

1
Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 750.227b
2
Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 750.224f
3
Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 28.424
4
Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 28.425b
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
7
Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 780.621
8
State of Michigan: Michigan State Police. Michigan Clean Slate
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens