SAF takes up another gun case
Acting on behalf of a Georgia resident and honorably discharged Vietnam War veteran, the Second Amendment Foundation today filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder and the Federal Bureau of Investigation over enforcement of a federal statute that can deny gun rights to someone with a simple misdemeanor conviction on his record.
The lawsuit was filed in United States District Court for the District of Columbia. SAF and co-plaintiff Jefferson Wayne Schrader of Cleveland, GA are represented by attorney Alan Gura, who successfully argued both the Heller and McDonald cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
October 14th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Yeah, I linked to this earlier today on my blog… I think this is awesome, and it looks like a slam dunk win for our side. This was the situation as described in the article:
October 14th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Realistically, I think there should be a “sunset” on the effect of a conviction on the right to bear arms. I also think that nonviolent felonies and perhaps non-aggravated violent misdemeanors should not prevent the exercising of the right. After all, I’m not sure that the theft of $200 worth of gift cards should make one ineligible to effectively defend oneself (or to vote, for that matter).
October 14th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Wolfwood, I think you are confused. The only reason that in Maryland this person was restricted from possessing firearms is because the Federal law on the topic defines disqualifying offenses as equivalent to felonies based on what the maximum sentence is. So even if the offense is labeled a “misdemeanor” but is punishable by more than a year on jail, it is disqualifying.
Otherwise the only misdemeanor that prevents possession under Federal law is that of domestic violence.