Michigan lawyer working with non-violent felons to restore their gun rights
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Michigan state law prohibits non-violent convicted felons from owning firearms even after they’ve completed their sentence, but Detroit-area lawyer Barton Morris is still working to restore that right.
“It’s people convicted of drug offenses or even drunk driving, theft offenses, those are the people that are going to be best for relief. They’ll best qualify,” said Morris with Mort Meisner Associates.
Morris says a new federal program proposed by the U.S Department of Justice could be the key, allowing individuals to file a petition to restore their firearm rights. The program could impact millions of people, like Clarence Overstreet, across the country.
Overstreet said he has already filed his petition.
“My felony was I had possession of cocaine. It was years ago. I was young, you know, doing what young people do,” said Overstreet.
“Just want to be able to protect me and my family at all times–go hunting with the kids. Never experienced that ever in life.”
According to Morris, the proposal could be rolled out in the coming weeks.
“The program was actually re-initiated officially in March of 2025. The proposed rules were published in July of 2025, and now the final rules are about to be published within the next 30 days,” he said.
Morris said people who were convicted of non-violent felonies, served their time and waited an additional five years would be eligible. However, Ryan Bates, the executive director of End Gun Violence Michigan, said he feels this change will make everyone less safe.
“Congress shut down this program for a reason years ago. We already ran this experiment, and many of the folks who had their gun rights restored ended up going on to commit violent crimes, murder, sexual assault, burglary,” Bates said. “The number one predictor of going on to commit a violent crime with a gun is having a previous criminal history.
Bates said he expects to see a lawsuit over this federal change before all is said and done.
