Former United States Border Patrol agent Tony Henderson was arrested for distributing marijuana and as a condition of bail had to turn his nineteen firearms over to the federal government.

After Henderson was convicted and could no longer legally possess firearms, he sought to have the government release them to a friend whom he was selling the weapons to, or in lieu of that, his wife, so she could make the transfer.

The government refused, stating that this gave Henderson constructive possession and violated the law.

[1] Henderson then asked for the District Court to order the release of the firearms and it denied his motion.

A court may seek assurances that the transferee will not allow the felon to regain possession of the firearms, but may not generally prohibit the owner from transferring the weapons to another person.