It’s time we had a serious debate in our society about why so many minor and trivial offenses are felonies. Historically, felonies were reserved for only the most heinous offenses, and were typically capital crimes.
I would be much more open to the blanket idea that all felons lose their right to bear arms if it weren’t for the fact that so many minor crimes are felonies.
We’ll see what happens down in Georgia, what with that kid getting charged with a felony for having a pocketknife in his car. Any voter outrage that currently exists probably won’t last, but hey, you never know.
On Wikipedia it says that the feds think that a crime that nominally gets one year in prison is a felony, while anything less than that is a misdemeanor or infraction. Do you think that that one-year cutoff should be modified, or that prison sentences for some crimes be reduced such that they are reclassified as misdemeanors?
I agree whole-heartedly… That’s why, when discussing guns with people, I am careful to always use the term “violent felons”, when I describe who shouldn’t be allowed to have guns. In fact, I’m not opposed to stripping 2A rights from anyone who clearly shows they can’t act responsibly… this would include multiple violent misdemeanors, not just felonies.
I don’t disagree. The real standard should be a predilection toward violent behavior, or behavior that harms others. I’m always open to the possibility that people rehabilitate themselves, however. I do believe someone who’s had a clean record for years, even if their past has some black marks in it, ought to be able to petition to have their rights restored.