Photo Of Kyle B. Sawyer
Photo Of Kyle B. Sawyer

Charged With A Crime? It Doesn’t Mean You’re Guilty.

Prohibited Use of Weapons Attorney / Lawyer in Arapahoe County

On Behalf of | May 2, 2014 | Prohibited Use of Weapons |

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You’ve been charged with Prohibited Use of Weapons. How did this happen? Imagine you’re drinking alcohol at your home; you own a pistol, and when the Sheriff’s Department for Douglas, Arapahoe, or Jefferson County show up, they charge you with being drunk with a gun. It sounds rather ridiculous to assume that someone can be charged with drinking alcohol and having a gun in their possession while in the comfort of the person’s own home! However, this type of constitutional abuse is taking place all the time in neighborhoods all over our great state of Colorado.

Is it legal to drink and carry a gun?

The statute for Prohibited Use of Weapons does not preclude someone from drinking and possessing a firearm, similar to the Driving Under the Influence law (DUI / C.R.S. 42-4-1301) doesn’t prohibit someone from drinking and driving a car. Instead, both laws prohibit someone in Denver, Adams, and Broomfield County from operating a vehicle or possessing / using a firearm while they are under the influence of alcohol to the point that their ability to drive or use a gun is substantially impaired. In other words, you can’t be intoxicated and carry a gun.

How many drinks can I have while carrying a firearm and still be okay?

This is a magic number where there is no specific formula to determine exactly how many drinks you can have, besides carrying your own portable breath test. In other words, the limit is subjective. I once heard a story of many attorneys from Parker, Centennial, and Lone Tree drinking at a bar and giving themselves a breath test before they left to verify how intoxicated they were. If you don’t have a portable breath test to use, just remember that you are likely more intoxicated than you think. The best policy for drinking while you have a gun is to remember to be smart and keep it to a minimum.

Can I be arrested for having a gun in my home while I am drinking alcohol or smoking weed?

The police in Aurora, Lakewood, and Littleton sometimes have nothing better to do than to check and see if you are following every law. As an attorney and criminal defense lawyer in the Denver metro area, the best issue in Prohibited use of a Weapon charge is when we can attack “possession.” The definition of possession is a gray area of the law. Cases can be won based on determining whether someone actually possessed a gun.

If you are facing charges of Prohibited use of a Weapon, be smart, exercise your right to be silent, and call our criminal defense team at 303-731-0719. Together we can protect your future.

Image courtesy of Boaz Yiftach / FreeDigitalPhotos.net