State Gun Laws

Under Idaho law, most adults can legally carry a concealed weapon, whether or not they have a license.

However, anyone who is in one or more of the categories listed below is disqualified from getting a concealed weapons license in Idaho:

• people under age 21, although there are some exceptions for young adults ages 18 – 21;
• domestic violence abusers who have a protection order against them that orders them:
  • not to harass, stalk, or threaten an intimate partner, the abuser’s child, or the partner’s child; or
  • not to engage in other conduct that would make an intimate partner reasonably fear bodily injury to the partner or a child;
• criminal defendants who:
  • are currently charged with a felony;
  • were convicted of a felony;
  • received a withheld judgment or suspended sentence for a felony unless they completed probation;
  • are currently on probation after being convicted of or receiving a withheld judgment for a misdemeanor that involved the intentional use of physical force, or the attempted or threatened use of physical force, against another person or his/his property;
  • are free on bond or personal recognizance pending trial, appeal, or sentencing for a crime that would disqualify them from obtaining a concealed weapons license;
• fugitives from justice;
• unlawful drug users, including people who use marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, or another controlled substance;
• people who are, or were declared by a judge to be:
  • lacking mental capacity to stand trial;
  • mentally ill;
  • gravely disabled; or
  • incapacitated;
• people who received a dishonorable discharge from the armed forces;
• undocumented immigrants (“aliens”) who are illegally in the United States;
• former United States citizens who renounced their citizenship; or
• people who can’t legally own, possess, or receive a firearm under Idaho law or federal law for any other reason.²

Keep in mind that these categories only apply to concealed weapons. They don’t apply to guns that are carried in plain view or guns that people have in their own homes or workplaces.³ However, if the abuser was convicted of a specific felony in Idaho, or if the Federal Gun Laws apply, then it might be illegal for the abuser to have any guns.⁴   

¹ ID Code § 18-3302(4)(f)
² ID Code § 18-3302(11)
³ ID Code § 18-3302(3), (25)
⁴ ID Code § 18-310(2); 18 USC § 922