gun possession

Gun possession is a concept in US law denoting the circumstance that a person has a firearm under their actual or legal control. The term is not defined in a single provision, but is used consistently in federal criminal law, where the central question is whether a person "possessed" a firearm — regardless of whether the weapon was used, fired or displayed in a threatening manner. A "firearm" is legally defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3) and covers, among other things, handguns, rifles and shotguns. This definition is the basis on which prosecutors assess whether there is possession of a firearm within the meaning of the law.

The principal federal prohibition is 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), which bars certain categories of persons from possessing firearms at all. These include persons with prior convictions, persons under indictment for certain offences, and persons subject to certain psychiatric determinations. For these groups, possession in itself is punishable — independently of any threat or act of violence.

In practice, US law distinguishes between "actual possession", where the person physically carries the weapon on their body, and "constructive possession", where the person has control over the weapon without necessarily carrying it — for example in a bag, a vehicle or a locked cabinet. Both forms can lead to charges.

In cases such as the 2009 firearms incident involving NBA players Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton in the Wizards' locker room, gun possession was precisely the central charge. No shots were fired, but bringing firearms was sufficient to trigger criminal consequences. Arenas pleaded guilty under Washington D.C. law to carrying a pistol without a licence and received a suspended sentence.