Bush has been pardoning a lot of non-violent felons who want their gun rights back. Back when a felony meant you did something really serious, it was one thing. But now:
So, after George W. Bush, a strong defender of the Second Amendment, took office, Mr. Collier wrote to the president seeking a pardon, saying he wanted to go hunting with his kids. He explained that he accidentally killed the eagles while trying to poison coyotes that were attacking wild turkeys and deer on property he farms.
Sounds like he set out poison for coyotes, and ended up poisoning a bald eagle, and was charged under the Endangered Species Act. Yeah, that guy is a time bomb waiting to go off, let me tell you. I would support a fair law that barred violent offenders from possessing guns, but the law we have now is not fair, nor does it only target violent offenders.
good thing… but we need to get back the restoration of rights process that we used to have
Fully agreed on this one, there is a HUGE difference between violent and non-violent, that prohibition was painted with a brush too broad…
Agreed.
The definition of “felony” is so broad it should not be an automatic suspend-forever sentence for any pursuit. For example, taking a low-weight lobster across a state line is a Federal felony, so be careful not only of weight but if you are at a site near a border be sure to have a GPS unit along…
Or, in Cambridge MA, it is a weapons charge felony to wear one of those leather bands with diamond-shaped studs (I always wondered why someone would put Rover`s collar around their wrist, but waddahay).
I know the feeling unfortunately. I committed a non-violent crime in NJ in 1993. It was for theft (me and another guy took a check from where we worked) . I had a clean record before and haven’t gotten so much as a parking ticket since. However, because of NJ law, the probation I was on ended in 2000 and the law states one has to wait TEN YEARS past that point to apply to have the conviction expunged. That process alone can take 6-7 months, so I have to wait until the summer of 2010 before I will legally be allowed to own a firearm.
Chris’s idea is a great one, but one that will NEVER, EVER see the light of day as long as Democrats control Congress and one sits in the White House.