Whether a DWI affects your gun rights in Texas depends almost entirely on one thing: whether your DWI is a misdemeanor or a felony. A typical first- or second-offense misdemeanor DWI does not make you a felon, so it generally does not cost you the right to own firearms, but it can still affect your right to carry, and any DWI can complicate a purchase while charges are pending. A felony DWI is a different story. A Houston DWI lawyer can fight your case to protect your record and your Second Amendment rights.
Misdemeanor DWI: You Generally Keep the Right to Own
A misdemeanor DWI (a first or second offense without aggravating factors) does not trigger the firearm-possession ban in Texas Penal Code § 46.04, which applies to felony convictions. So one or two misdemeanor DWIs generally do not cost you the right to possess firearms at home.
There is a catch on carrying, though: a Class A or Class B misdemeanor conviction can cost you the right to carry a handgun in public for five years, and a pending DWI can block the state from issuing you a License to Carry. So even a misdemeanor can put your carry rights on hold.
Felony DWI: This Is Where You Lose Your Rights
A DWI becomes a felony in Texas in several situations, a third or subsequent DWI, a DWI with a child passenger under 15, intoxication assault, and intoxication manslaughter. A felony conviction triggers firearm prohibitions under both Texas and federal law, and the two don’t line up:
- Texas (Penal Code § 46.04): a person with a felony conviction may not possess a firearm, with a limited exception allowing possession at home five years after completing the sentence, including any parole or probation.
- Federal (18 U.S.C. § 922): federal law bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison from possessing a firearm, with no five-year “at home” exception. Federal law is stricter and does not restore the right the way Texas’s limited exception does.
That gap matters: even where Texas law might eventually allow home possession, federal law can still make possession a crime.
Drugs and “Unlawful User” Status
Federal law also prohibits gun ownership by anyone who is an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.” So if your DWI involved illicit drugs, or you have a related drug charge, that can independently affect your gun rights, even without a felony conviction.
DWI Charges Don’t Equal a DWI Conviction
Here’s the good news: every consequence above flows from a conviction. You have a constitutional right to fight these charges, and there are many potential defenses, challenging the stop, the breath or blood test, and the evidence. Keeping a case from becoming a felony, or beating it outright, is how a gun owner protects their rights. (For more, see the collateral consequences of a DWI.)
Protect Your Second Amendment Rights. Contact Blass Law
When your gun rights are on the line, your choice of lawyer matters. Contact Blass Law for a confidential case evaluation or call (713)-664-4000 to find out how we can defend your case and your rights.