So...when they lose their 2nd amendment rights does that also mean they lose ALL other rights as well? Look, I don't want convicted felons to have guns but not all felons are a threat, (i.e. drug possession). Just my thoughts.
Posted on 12/10/2002 12:22:01 PM PST by coloradan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal agencies first, not the courts, should decide whether convicted felons can regain their rights to own guns, the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruled unanimously on Tuesday.
Felons are barred from carrying guns after their release from prison, but they can ask the government for an exception. The ruling clarified how the procedures work in such cases.
The case involved Texas gun dealer Thomas Bean, who was convicted in a Mexican court of importing ammunition into Mexico. As a result, he was barred from possessing firearms or ammunition, losing his livelihood.
Bean applied to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for relief. The federal agency returned the application unprocessed, saying it was barred from spending any funds to investigate or act on such applications.
A 1992 law stopped funding of ATF investigations of whether felons' gun ownership rights should be reinstated. It was passed after an outcry over a study showing the agency had granted thousands of applications from convicted felons, at a cost of millions of dollars.
Bean had sued, asking a federal judge to conduct an inquiry into his fitness to possess a gun and issue a judicial order granting him relief. The judge ruled for Bean, a decision upheld by a U.S. appeals court.
Justice Clarence Thomas (news - web sites) said the appeals court was wrong. Under the law, judicial review was allowed only after an actual denial by the ATF, Thomas said.
He said judicial review cannot occur without a decision by the agency. Thomas rejected Bean's argument that the government's inability to act amounted to a denial of his request.
So in the eyes of our federal government, a corrupt third-world court has more standing than the Bill of Rights?
Every public official involved in this decision should be immediately impeached.
Excellent, the Ninth Circus is the most overturned federal appellate court. I'm anxious to see them overturned again!
Aren't Rights bestowed upon us by the Creator and unalienable? In other words, do we lose our right to self defense if we at one time in our lives disobeyed a law that just so happened to be punishable by over a year in jail? Do we forever lose our right to worship God as we choose?
fed law --18 USC section 922(g)--unlaw to possess firearm or ammunition that has been shipped in interstate or foreign commerce if "convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;...."
That will work, but I still want to know the theory under which the bearing of arms is a right but personal liberty is not.
I have trouble enough with Kalifornia right now. I have arranged an early retirement with just 61 days of work remaining. Then the program to relocate to a free state will begin. The Ninth Circus Nonsense unfortunately includes Nevada, so Utah and Texas look more appealing.
As for the Bush administration, the net movement has been positive and so I forgive some slowness. There are tests ahead which they must pass.
No this has been in the Fed courts all the way. I do think that Texas has a state law prohibiting the firearms restroration for five years after completing probation/sentence. I don't have a cite on that statue and it's not come up in this case that I've seen.
You have hit the nail on the head. Most people I know (and I am connected with the military) wouldn't know a Constitutional provision if it hit them on the head.
I guess there is no point in getting upset about it. No civilization or country lasts forever. I'm sorry the American Police State appeared in my lifetime; its bad for my children.
Unfortunately, I have come to the same conclusion. Thirty plus years in and with the Army and trying to honor my oath, and I see my leaders caving in front of my eyes. I feel sorry for my son.
weaponeer
Does this happen often???? Do we incarcerate people in our own prisons who have been sentenced in a foreign country?!
This should be the end of the story.....
I was only being facetious I suppose. It just seems odd that man can take away what the Creator has bestowed..
If they happen to participate in the following....
So...when they lose their 2nd amendment rights does that also mean they lose ALL other rights as well? Look, I don't want convicted felons to have guns but not all felons are a threat, (i.e. drug possession). Just my thoughts.
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