RF,    This is blatant misinformation. If you have a state felony and the same state restores your right to bear arms then you can legally own a firearm again. If you have a federal charge then only the Feds can restore your rights. If your rights have been restored then you can legally own a firearm again. Now here is a hypothetical scenario. You have a felony in two seperate states. In this case each state where the crime was commited must restore your rights. If you have a federal charge then you must have your rights restored by the feds which is very difficult to do right now since they cut the funding for the program.    The situation of the felon who got an FID card after five years might be right but if he didn't get his rights restored through a state court then he still should not have owned a gun. You must get your rights restored in a court of law before you can ever legally own or possess a firearm again.    If you only have a state offense then you only have to have your rights restored on the state level. The BATF recognizes this and some gun shops can provide you with a appeal form that goes into detail about this.    Contact a good lawyer who specializes in this area to get some help.         The problem is that a felon would have to have his/her rights restored at both the state and federal levels. A few years ago, an ex-con received an FID (Firearms Identification) card from Massachusetts licensing authorities because his record was clean for at least five years. So, he was legal once again to own a rifle or shotgun (not handguns!) in Massachusetts. He then obtained a shotgun and registered it in compliance with Massachusetts law. Someone who knew his background turned him in to the BATF and he was federally prosecuted. Getting a governor's pardon will restore your gun ownership rights in the state, but not eliminate your conviction; you would still be a prohibited person as far as BATF is concerned. In order to satisfy federal requirements, you will also need a Presidential pardon. You would probably stand a better chance of winning a multi-million-dollar lottery than getting one of these. Sitting Presidents pardon just a handful of cases, and usually only in their last month in office. If forced into an impossible situation, some people will resort to less-than-legal methods. It has always been this way and it always will be. Nuff said! 