Quote:
Originally Posted by Ricky B
If the ex post facto aspect of Lautenberg comes before the high court, I suspect it will duck the issue and not address it head-on. Instead, there is a good chance that it would interpret the Lautenberg amendment as applying only to convictions subsequent to its enactment, thereby sustaining the validity of the law and avoiding deciding the constitutional issue before it has to.
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ie: They will simply get rid of the unconstitutional portion of the law and allow the law to stand as now-constitutional law. Never said I wanted anything more than that.
If they were to examine the misdemeanor-loss-of-rights aspect of the law it wouldn't hurt my feelings.
Remember, the loss of 2A rights for ex-felons only came about with the enactment of GCA '68. Prior to that enactment, ex-felons were allowed to own firearms and that was so back to the formation of the country.
Look at nineteenth century America. When a felon was released from prison, they were issued all of their property which was with them at incarceration. If that property included a rig and pistol or rifle they got that also. There was nothing in the laws at that time which disallowed the person from being issued a firearm. A firearm was, at that time, considered a necessary implement. They weren't told "Here's your rig but we're keeping the pistol and you are disallowed from owning one from now until your death."