He wasn’t. If you’re saying that citizens shouldn’t have to go through these hoops that the govt makes us go through- I’m with you, but that’s just the way it is.
I’m not arguing his case specifically, I am raising the contention as to whether it should have been a crime at all. For anybody. If you had used drugs 3 times out of a 12 month period, would that have disqualified you? How about 6? I can almost bet there is no case law giving that bright line definition. There is a charge separately called using a gun while in the commission of a felony, that is a proper law, because even if it was not fired, the threat during the felony, such as armed robbery, is an offense. Here, he possessed a gun, and used drugs. What about alcohol? How much would you have to drink to disqualify you from owning a gun? I am not trying to argue he should not have been convicted, because under the law, the jury instructions, and the evidence, the jury came to that conclusion pretty easily. What I am concerned about is merely possessing a gun, when never having used the gun in the commission of a crime, or having been convicted of a prior violent crime, is criminal. They are going to keep pushing this to the point that good amount of people are afraid to own a gun because of the potential legal consequences. People are already scared to use force against others who break into their house or business.
I would like to see the take away on this is that the 4473 (the form in question) and the whole NICS system is revamped.
I Assume that the gove can search me, or anyone, and find out everything, and I mean everything.
Once the potential buyer’s identity has been verified, the gov should be able to easily assess a pass fail based on their records and history.
The 4473 questions on the form is, essentially, a perjury trap.