Instead, this blanket ban covers anyone convicted of an infraction “punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.” And that includes a wide array of misdemeanor offenses.
Consider the case of Range v. Attorney General, which was decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit last June. It was 1995 when Bryan Range pleaded guilty to food stamp fraud charges by falsifying his income.
Range paid his fine, restitution and court costs and served three years of probation. But his punishment was far from over.
Conviction on food stamp fraud in Pennsylvania carried a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison, and even though he did not serve a day behind bars, the defendant was stripped of his Second Amendment rights for life.
The appeals court held that a nonviolent offender may not lose their gun rights. This correct decision was firmly based on the history and tradition requirement established by the Supreme Court in Bruen.
Now working its way through the court system is a similar Pennsylvania case involving a man who was convicted of DUI in 2005. Edward Williams already had a previous DUI expunged, meaning the new charge carried a possible sentence of up to five years in prison.
Like Range, Williams did not serve time. Instead, he was placed under house arrest for 90 days, fined $1,500 and ordered to pay court costs and undergo drug and alcohol treatment.
However, the mere fact that he faced a possible five years behind bars was enough to nullify his Second Amendment rights for life under federal law.
His case, Williams v. Garland, is making its way through the court system and features legal arguments similar to the earlier Range lawsuit.
The pro-gun rights group Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) weighed in strongly on the litigation. FPC President Brandon Combs detailed the constitutional issues in the case.
“The federal government’s immoral ban is unconstitutional and has no historical basis. We will continue to work to eliminate this and other gun control laws that separate people from their rights.”
The FPC filed a brief supporting Williams and his fight to retain his gun rights. The filing was primarily based on 2022’s historic Bruen decision, which established a clear bar for governments of all levels to reach when enacting or enforcing gun control.
The brief explained the FPC’s position in defense of gun rights.
“Prohibiting Williams from possessing a firearm consequent to a conviction for DUI is a clear violation of his Second Amendment protected right to keep and bear arms, as such prohibition is inconsistent with any longstanding tradition of firearms regulation in the United States. It is settled law that the guarantee of the Second Amendment includes ‘the right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.’”
The FPC further noted that the government failed to establish a historical precedent for the sweeping ban. Instead, the brief stated federal officials attempted to push the fallacy that historical regulations in the Founding Era applied to more individuals than just those convicted of violent crimes.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in the Williams case.
It is undoubtedly in the public interest to disarm violent criminals and those who legitimately pose a threat to themselves or others. But anti-gun zealots seek to apply this reasonable restriction across the board and strip gun rights away from even those who have neither committed a violent crime nor present a clear danger.
The federal law needs to be overhauled to narrow its scope to dangerous individuals and not those who are merely guilty of nonviolent misdemeanors.
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