State Gun Laws

Under Idaho law, if you have a protection order against the abuser, s/he is disqualified from getting a license to carry a concealed weapon. However, for this law to apply, your protection order must specifically state that the abuser cannot:

• harass, stalk, or threaten you, your child, or his/her child; or
• engage in other conduct that would make you reasonably fear bodily injury to you or a child.¹

Also, under federal law, which applies to all states and territories, it is illegal for the abuser to have any gun as long as your protection order meets certain conditions. The federal law may apply even if your protection order does not specifically include a term that prohibits guns. You can read more about this in the Guns and Orders of Protection section on our Federal Gun Laws page.

¹ ID Code § 18-3302(11)(m)

To possibly increase the chances that the abuser’s guns will be taken away when you get a protection order in Idaho, here are some steps you can take:

• Tell the judge everything you know about the abuser’s guns. Describe how many guns s/he has, what types they are, and where they are kept.
• Tell the judge if the abuser has ever threatened you with a gun.
• Ask the judge to include in your protection order that the abuser cannot own, buy, or have a gun while the order is active. However, this may not be something the judge will do under Idaho’s laws.

If the judge agrees to write in the order that the abuser cannot have a gun, you can also ask the judge to:

• Require the abuser to hand over any guns to the police, or give the police the power to go to the abuser’s home and take the guns;
• Clearly state how long the guns will be kept away from the abuser; and
• Order that the police tell you when the guns are returned to the abuser.