Second Amendment Rights and Bankruptcy: What You Need to Know

The Second Amendment is one thing, and bankruptcy exemptions are another. So your Second Amendment rights still mean you could lose your firearms if you file for bankruptcy.

Listen to this blog post.

Key Points:

• The Second Amendment is your constitutional right to bear arms.
• Your Second Amendment right doesn’t mean you can keep your guns if your file for bankruptcy.
• Each state has different exemptions when it comes to bankruptcy, so your firearm(s) may not be protected with bankruptcy.
• Before you file for bankruptcy, make sure you know your state’s exemption laws.
• Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the most common type of bankruptcy filed, followed by Chapter 13.

Second Amendment

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

U.S. Constitution – Second Amendment | Resources | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

My Three Guns

My first gun was a Ruger P89, which I bought when I turned twenty-one. Thirty-one years later, it’s still with me, along with the leather shoulder holster I purchased at a gun show in West Palm Beach a few months after I bought the Ruger.

Of course, the inspiration for that holster was from watching too many Miami Vice episodes in the 80s with Sonny Crockett. We can agree that living on a sailboat docked in Key Biscayne with a pet alligator named “Elvis” is pretty badass. If I could do that today, I would.

The Witness .45 caliber is from a friend who wanted to get rid of it and offered it to me at a cheap price. The Smith & Wesson .38 caliber I bought last year was to protect my dog more than anything else.

Our community isn’t gated, but there’s only one entrance, so once a stray dog gets into the neighborhood, it might not be easy to find their way out. Concerned that one day, a stray dog may attack my dog(s) while we go out for a walk, I decided to get a gun I could carry and easily conceal. I even have bear spray, but I felt it may not be enough to ward off an attack. At the time, Jackie was with us. She passed away last year at 21, but you can see why I wanted to be protected.

Luckily, no stray dogs have come close to us; however, you never know. Approximately one month after I purchased the .38, my wife and I were looking to buy land in northern Florida. A few seconds after we got in the car, we were surrounded by a pack of wild dogs.

Fortunately, other than blocking the car and even chasing it for a while, that’s as far as it went.  

So now you know about my gun collection, well, it’s not a collection since I don’t consider myself a collector. I just haven’t sold any of the guns that I bought, which is unlike me since I tend to be Jack Reacher-like in that regard. But what does guns have to do with bankruptcy? The answer is everything!

How Bankruptcy Exemptions Affect Gun Ownership

Not all states exempt firearms when it comes to filing for bankruptcy. Remember, exemptions are another way of saying protections for personal and real property.

• Divorce and Bankruptcy Go Hand-in-Hand and Affect Each Other

In some states, like Florida, a gun is nothing more than an asset. So, imagine a gun collector. For example, one of my friends, a retired police officer, is close to the century mark with firearms. Let’s say the average price of his guns is $100 each, times 100, that equals $10,000. Let’s do an exemption analysis in his case.

Florida Personal Bankruptcy Exemptions

Florida offers a $4,000 exemption if you don’t own a home and $1,000 if you do. The increased exemption for non-homeowners is known as a “wildcard” in bankruptcy.

Since my friend owns a home, his exemption is $1,000. Besides his gun collection, let’s say the value of all his personal property is another $5,000. Let’s do the math.

$10k in firearms plus another $5k in other personal property equals $15k. Subtract the $1k exemption; what remains is $14k that is not protected. What happens in this situation?

Issues with a Divorce Case, Mortgage, and Bankruptcy

My friend can surrender the guns to the trustee who sells them at auction or “buy back” the bankruptcy estate’s interest. If he were to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, that would not be easy because trustees typically allow 10-12 months max for the payment plan.

The other option is Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which would allow the $14k to be paid back over an extended payment period of 36 to 60 months.

Research Your State’s Bankruptcy Exemptions

So, if you own firearms, before you file for bankruptcy, you need to confirm with the bankruptcy lawyer what the state exemptions are and if there are any special exemptions for firearms. For example, in Texas, up to two firearms are exempt.

Remember not to confuse bankruptcy law with the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment gives you the right to bear arms. However, in bankruptcy court, the right to bear arms has nothing to do with the value of those firearms. Those are two different areas of law.

Car Loans and Bankruptcy: How to Keep Your Car

One way to look at it is that you’re not being told you can’t own firearms, as that would be a violation of the Second Amendment, assuming other issues aren’t at play, like prior criminal charges. But with bankruptcy, you are only being told that your firearms’ value is not protected. Therefore, the Second Amendment does not apply to this issue, especially since you can own as many guns as you wish after the bankruptcy case is finalized.

I hope this straightens out any confusion that there might be between having the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment and how this could potentially affect a bankruptcy case.

You can learn more about filing for bankruptcy and the bankruptcy petition via this link. Information on the bankruptcy court system, contact information for trustees, and your state’s exemptions can be found here. The federal bankruptcy exemptions are listed here. The latest version of the 341 Meeting of the Creditors can be found here.

Colleges and universities can purchase my bankruptcy law textbook directly from Routledge Publishing. For paralegals and students buying single copies, you can do so via Amazon books. To access my YouTube channel, click this link.

Need to look for prior blog posts or other categories? Click the links below or use the search feature at the top of the page:

• Bankruptcy
• Your Wallet

Please note that the information on this site does not constitute legal advice and should be considered for informational purposes only.

Updated on December 15, 2024.

Updated on September 5, 2025.