Can You Own A Gun In Texas If You Live With A Felon?

The laws in Texas when it comes to guns isn't nearly as strict as it is in a lot of other states. We've always been a proud gun state, and essentially encourage gun ownership. That's perfectly fine, however there are still some relative grey areas when it comes to ownership.

As with any law, no matter how clearly defined it is, there is something inside that law where someone can interpret it differently and actually have a case when it comes to said interpretation.

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Recently, I saw a question posed that was a really good one. It asked if you could own a gun legally if your spouse, a family member, or someone else you lived with was a felon.

As we all know, felons aren't allowed to own a gun. After so long, they could become eligible again to own one, but for at least five years, it's a no-go. Should that person live with you though, it gets tricky.

The short answer here is yes, YOU can own the gun. However, there are some restrictions and things you need to be sure of, otherwise it could become what is called "constructive ownership".

If your legally owned gun is locked up in a safe or something similar, and the person with the felon conviction on their record can access that safe by knowing the code, or access the lock box because they have a key, then it becomes constructive ownership.

Now, as long as they can't access it, then you are perfectly within your rights of owning that gun. If there is no way for them to access it, everything is perfectly fine and it takes away the possibility of the felon having constructive ownership of the gun.