If you or someone you care for is professionally impeded by the strict rules regarding expungement in Missouri, it could be worth your time to review the recent changes in statutory law. Many residents of the state who are burdened with a criminal record stand to benefit from the increased leniency and reduced wait times set out in the new legislation: You might be surprised at some of the qualifying offenses.

While this is a new law, expungement itself is an established mechanism in the state for regaining some of your personal rights. If an offense you were charged with or found guilty of were eligible to be expunged, all record of it could be erased from the public record. This includes any history you might have of convictions, pleas entered, trials and even arrests.

Expungement could offer you a clean slate. Your clean record might result in more than professional and social opportunities. According to a review of the new expungement law by the Collateral Consequences Resource Center, expungement restores all rights that you would have enjoyed without a conviction. 

The article also mentions gun rights, stating that there is no clear reason that the court would not restore your firearm rights upon expungement. Law enforcement and licensing agencies have access to closed records, but current expungement laws would allow you to regain gun rights. There is no language in the new law that challenges the status quo in this regard. However, every case is different, so please do not view this as legal advice. Please simply regard it as educational material.