Replies

I agree. The question is perhaps too broad. You must list all of the felony crimes and state whether or not a person convicted of that crime should have their voting rights permanently taken away.

Another way to look at the question is the one you have taken, and I tend to agree with, if you have paid for your crime, i.e. served your sentence, including any parole, you should have your full rights restored.

It's a difficult question. Yonif really stumped me. On the one hand...we don't all want to be treated as the lowest common denominator, but on the other hand ....it is the only FAIR way. Law-abiding, moral citizens should be the ones telling us what is acceptable in our communities.
This being said...it should be up to them and not the courts to decide what rights would be given back. People who knowingly break the law cannot be trusted to judge it (jury).
My only problem with this is that not all rules or laws that are broken justify the withdrawl of ones rights. For instance, if I travel from Florida to Texas with a firearm to protect my family on the trip, then I am breaking at least 5 state laws(I don't hold a CCW license). Would a jury nullify my arrest since this is a victimless crime and I am protected by the Constitution. I would hope so.

If I am a thief and steal someones property, then pay my victim restitution and never steal again...does this warrant the removal of my right to defend myself? The answer is yes since the law states that this would happen before I even stole the thing in the first place. This is being treated as the "lowest common denominator".

There should be a method in which rights can be restored based upon community standards, but there probably won't ever be one. San Francisco morality is not the same as those found in West Texas.