Alaska Law
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FIREARM PROHIBITIONS
Alaska Domestic Violence Firearm Purchase and Possession Prohibitions
Alaska may prohibit the person subject to a protective order issued after notice and a hearing at which the respondent had the right to appear and be heard from “using or possessing a deadly weapon if the court finds the respondent was in the actual possession of or used a weapon during the commission of domestic violence[.]”1 Alaska does not prohibit firearm purchase and possession by:
- Persons convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors;
- Persons subject to an ex parte domestic violence protective order.
CIVIL PROTECTIVE ORDER FIREARM REMOVAL
Domestic Violence Civil Protective Orders That Require Firearm Removal
Alaska law does not require the removal of firearms from persons subject to domestic violence protective orders; however, a court issuing a domestic violence protective order, after notice and a hearing at which the respondent had the right to appear and be heard, may “direct the respondent to surrender any firearm owned or possessed by the respondent if the court finds that the respondent was in the actual possession of or used a firearm during the commission of the domestic violence[.]”2
Individuals Who May Petition for a Protective Order
A “household member” may petition for a protective order. “Household member” includes:
- Adults or minors who are current or former spouses;
- Adults or minors who live together or who have lived together;
- Adults or minors who are dating or who have dated;
- Adults or minors who are engaged in or who have engaged in a sexual relationship;
- Adults or minors who are related to each other up to the fourth degree of consanguinity, whether of the whole or half blood or by adoption, computed under the rules of civil law;
- Adults or minors who are related or formerly related by marriage;
- Persons who have a child of the relationship; and
- Minor children of a person in a relationship that is described in (A)-(G) of this paragraph[.]3
Removal Process
A court issuing a domestic violence protective order may “direct the respondent to surrender any firearm owned or possessed by the respondent” but does not specify a time frame in which to comply nor does it specify to whom firearms should be surrendered.4
Return of Firearms to Respondent
Alaska law does not specify how firearms are returned to the respondent at the termination or expiration of a domestic violence protective order.
Penalties for Violation
A violation of a protective order may be a misdemeanor “punishable by up to one year of incarceration and up to a $25,000 fine[.]”5
