9th Circuit Court of Appeals 2nd Amendment Ruling

[robertrwalsh]

I have a great deal of familiarity with convicted felons, having working in a state prison for 24 years. A fair number of the denizens there were actually straight citizens who murdered their wife, husbands, wife's boyfriend, etc. This makes them violent felons but they would, generally speaking, be perfectly safe to live next door to when they paroled. A large number of them were violent jerks who would rob and kill from force of habit if for no other reason. People are inconveniently different from one another.

 

[steelslaver]

If you believe no convicted felon should have a gun no mater what, why would you believe one should be able control our nuclear missiles, especially when all missiles with an explosive load over 1/4oz are defined as destructive weapons by the GCA of 1968 which are not allowed to be possessed by convicted felons?

You can't have it both ways. If your willing to make one exception why not a thousand or more?

 

[Buford57]

One of my biddies was convicted of stealing a car shortly after he turned 18. He is now 75 years old, has worked hard all his life, raised some great kids, and I would trust him with my life. Yet apparently some here believe he is forever completely worthless, untrustworthy and believe because he got caught doing something stupid once in his life he should never have the same rights and freedom as those of us who never got caught doing making a mistake something stupid.

I however am not that much of a holier than though not an attorney

I wasn't going to bring this up, because "one robin doesn't make it spring" but you reminded me of this case. In the mid-60s two young sailors (18 and 19 yoa) on their first liberty after graduating from basic training at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes went to Chicago to hit the bars. They met an older man who had a shiny new Pontiac convertible and offered to show them the town. He then propositioned them. Disgusted, they roughed him up a bit, tossed him in the trunk and continued their tour of the Windy City. After an hour or so they were arrested and charged (in typical Cook County fashion) with kidnapping, strong arm robbery, auto theft, battery and probably spitting on the sidewalk. They ended up with a felony auto theft conviction, a fine, time served and a dishonorable discharge. Fast forward 20 years and one of the sailors is a 15 year veteran of the Fire Department, a deacon in his church and living in a state where everyone over the age of 5 owns a gun and everyone over the age of 12 hunts. He hunts with a compound bow, but would really like to be able to buy a rifle. I was my department's liaison to ATF and shepherded him through the Byzantine "relief from disability" process. His 2nd Amendment rights were restored.

Another 7 or 8 years and I was working on the east coast and spotted an article in the "states" page of USA today recounting how he had been cleared of shooting his drug-addled step-daughter after she stabbed her mother to death and then turned on him.

There's a moral or two in there, but you decide what they are.

 

[WR Moore]

There are those who stumble on the road of life. However, if afterward, they walk the straight & narrow, they can apply to have their records expunged (or pardoned?). Knew of several who did so.