U.S. District Court finds Some Felons Have Second Amendment

A place for sharing news stories related to armed citizens, law enforcement & 2A/CCW topics.

Please note that when linking to an article you must cite the source URL and provide no more than a brief preview of the article to ensure fair-use standards are met.

NO DOCUMENT DUMPING.

Posts in violation of these rules are subject to immediate deletion without warning.

Moderators: Chuck, Mustang380gal, Coordinators, Moderators

Post Reply
bignflnut
Volunteer
Volunteer
Posts: 8135
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:14 pm
Location: Under Naybob Tinfoil Bridge
Contact:

U.S. District Court finds Some Felons Have Second Amendment

Post by bignflnut »

On 26 April, 2018, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois held that some felons have the right to keep and bear arms. Larry Hatfield was a perfect test case. ..., Hatfield v. Session (formerly Hatfield v. Lynch)

SNIP

J. Phil Gilbert, District Judge gets to the hear of the matter. The Second Amendment has to mean something. It is logically inconsistent that a convicted felon is so harmless that he is not jailed, yet is so dangerous that he can not be allowed arms to defend himself.

The problem comes from the ever expanding list of felonies. Felonies are defined in federal law as crimes for which a person may be imprisoned for more than a year. There are so many federal felonies that books have been written about the impossibility of living in the United States without committing felonies.

At the time of the founding, there were only nine crimes that were considered felonies. They were murder, rape, manslaughter, robbery, sodomy, larceny, arson, mayhem, and burglary.

Progressives have expanded the list to many thousands of regulatory crimes. In an ironic twist, many of the arcane gun laws across the nation, particularly federal gun laws, make relatively minor regulatory crimes a felony.
And this indefinite stripping of one's Rights (if one is a felon, one has little redress to regain one's RKBA, save this case), is a travesty. If one is free to walk about, one should be free to RKBA, yes, even felons who have done their time. A) If they want one, they'll get one. The. State. Can. Not. Keep. You. Safe. B) Shall we revoke the felons' 1st, 4th or 5th amendment rights also, indefinitely? Are they not second-class citizens? Haven't they forfeited those Rights? C) If a person is too dangerous to be set free, we have capital punishment, particularly for violent assaults. It's one or the other, either the person is too dangerous to be free, or they are restored to first-class status when freed. Any other option is a perversion of justice.

It ain't just progressives who have expanded the list of crimes. Beware this tribalism chatter from all media (talk radio / Fox News). Remember, we're all in this together and we all benefit from having our God Given Rights upheld by the civil magistrate.
“It’s not that we don’t have enough scoundrels to curse; it’s that we don’t have enough good men to curse them.”–G.K. Chesterton-Illustrated London News, 3-14-1908

Republicans.Hate.You. See2020.

"Avarice, ambition, revenge and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our Constitution, as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams to Mass Militia 10-11-1798
User avatar
Bruenor
Posts: 7306
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:03 pm
Location: Geneva, OH

Re: U.S. District Court finds Some Felons Have Second Amendm

Post by Bruenor »

Of course the next hangup is what politician is going to stand up and say I want to restore funding to the ATF so felons can get relief from disability.

I do agree with the judge though, either you are dangerous and should be in prison or you served your time and should have all your rights restored.
Μολὼν λαβέ

"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. . . Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them."

- Thomas Paine

"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem."

- Thomas Jefferson
User avatar
JediSkipdogg
Posts: 10257
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 3:03 pm
Location: Batavia
Contact:

Re: U.S. District Court finds Some Felons Have Second Amendm

Post by JediSkipdogg »

Bruenor wrote:I do agree with the judge though, either you are dangerous and should be in prison or you served your time and should have all your rights restored.
The problem though is what can of worms do you open if you start expanding on that. Think about sex offenders and the registry? Crimes have statutory levels of punishment and even probation cannot go past that. You can't give someone 10 years of probation if the max jail sentence is 1 year. Yet, we give someone a lifetime or even 10 year sex offender registry for a crime that is a misdemeanor. Why?

Can you give someone a lifetime trespass ban when the max punishment for trespass is 6 months? How about a lifetime driving suspension for vehicular manslaughter when the max sentence may only be ten years?

I agree with the judge. I just think most supreme courts will be leary of opening that can for what it can eventually evolve in to.
Carrying Concealed Handguns - Signage Answers

Ohio Concealed Carry Classes in S/W Ohio
http://www.ProShootersTraining.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am not a lawyer. My answers are based on research, knowledge, and are generally backed up with facts, the Ohio Revised Code, or the United States Code.
bignflnut
Volunteer
Volunteer
Posts: 8135
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:14 pm
Location: Under Naybob Tinfoil Bridge
Contact:

Re: U.S. District Court finds Some Felons Have Second Amendm

Post by bignflnut »

So he brought suit in federal court, arguing that the categorical prohibition of firearms possession by felons was unconstitutional as applied to him: a non-violent, one-time offender. The district court sided with the government, which argued that a permanent revocation of Second Amendment rights for all felonies—no matter how serious or remote in time—passes constitutional muster. The court paid lip service to Kanter’s Second Amendment rights, finding that the commission of any felony shows that he “clearly disrespected important laws in the past,” which justifies completely stripping him of his rights. Kanter appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Because fundamental rights cannot be so summarily disregarded, Cato filed a brief as amicus curiae supporting Kanter. The scope of what is considered a felony has changed dramatically in recent decades, with more and more minor offenses carrying criminal penalties. This poses a serious concern where the government does not distinguish terrorism and armed robbery from falsification of fishing records or Martha Stewart’s infamous white lies in stripping a person of fundamental rights.
“It’s not that we don’t have enough scoundrels to curse; it’s that we don’t have enough good men to curse them.”–G.K. Chesterton-Illustrated London News, 3-14-1908

Republicans.Hate.You. See2020.

"Avarice, ambition, revenge and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our Constitution, as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams to Mass Militia 10-11-1798
Post Reply