Should a convicted felon ever get their gun rights back?

[SSGSAD]

People without felony records are already second in class to those that do have felony records.

YES, in SOME cases, it is easier for the felons, to get a job .....

 

[richardraw316]

seems fitting to go here as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRHUQ203IIc&feature=c4-overview&list=UUWJHDMgKWWvOsdyRF3HPVEw

 

[Cemetery-man]

I don't know what to think. Can anyone show statistics on how many convicts released from jail end up back in prison? You see and read about it and I'm sure there's many more you don't see or read about. I guess just because someone is released doesn't mean they are cured and a law-abiding citizen again and the past shows that innocent people can and do suffer or even die as a result.

 

[Hogwylde]

I don't know what to think. Can anyone show statistics on how many convicts released from jail end up back in prison? /QUOTE]

Here you go. It's 66%. Bureau of Justice Statistics Reentry Trends in the U.S.: Recidivism

 

[Pinchaser]

No, they shouldn't. It's truly that easy. Not much thought needed on this one.

 

[Redhorse]

Yeah, I surprised we've debated it this much. And all this talk about felons being second class citizens? Around where I live, once you get a felony McDonald's won't even hire you, let alone a respectable job. They might as well be second class citizens. And lets remember they can still vote (correct me if I'm wrong). Second class citizens aren't allowed to vote

 

[richardraw316]

Yeah, I surprised we've debated it this much. And all this talk about felons being second class citizens? Around where I live, once you get a felony McDonald's won't even hire you, let alone a respectable job. They might as well be second class citizens. And lets remember they can still vote (correct me if I'm wrong). Second class citizens aren't allowed to vote

you kind of made the point. a person with a felony has a hard time find good work. and most the time fall right back to what got them a felony in the first place. how does this help anyone rehabiltate? now i believe we should have different rules for violent felons. maybe 10 years clean before all rights restored, but a felon not convicted of a violent crime should have their rights reinstated the second they finish their punishment. or change the definition of felony back to murder, rape, attempted murder, assualt with a deadly weapon, and molestation. everything else is a lower crime.
felony may also include armed robbery.

 

[Redhorse]

you kind of made the point. a person with a felony has a hard time find good work. and most the time fall right back to what got them a felony in the first place. how does this help anyone rehabiltate? now i believe we should have different rules for violent felons. maybe 10 years clean before all rights restored, but a felon not convicted of a violent crime should have their rights reinstated the second they finish their punishment. or change the definition of felony back to murder, rape, attempted murder, assualt with a deadly weapon, and molestation. everything else is a lower crime.
felony may also include armed robbery.

This^^^

I like all of this except I respectively disagree with someone who has a violent felony being allowed to have a gun. Personally I sometimes disagree with them even being allowed to vote but I know this is going too far. To me, when they commit murder, armed robbery, rape, etc. they void these rights because they're voiding the rights of others.

 

[IndyDave1776]

This^^^

I like all of this except I respectively disagree with someone who has a violent felony being allowed to have a gun. Personally I sometimes disagree with them even being allowed to vote but I know this is going too far. To me, when they commit murder, armed robbery, rape, etc. they void these rights because they're voiding the rights of others.

Do you understand the difference between a right and a privilege? A person too dangerous to be treated as an equal citizen free to exercise all his rights like everyone else should NOT be roaming free. The net result of this will not be making anyone or anything any safer, but rather manufacturing a society in which anyone can be arbitrarily demoted from the proper condition of citizenship by increasingly arbitrary 'offenses' which are redefined as felonies.

You listed a number of offenses you believe just cause for demoting a person to second-class citizenship. Why were these people not executed or imprisoned long enough to make the question irrelevant? Why should a someone convicted of tax evasion be demoted to second-class citizen? How about copyright infringement, violating curfew, bigamy, recording a movie in a theater, transferring possession of a video that does not have the name and address of the manufacturer on it, Medicare fraud (if the doctor works on a poor person for free, he is guilty by virtue of charging this patient less than he charges Medicare), patronizing a prostitute, rent gouging (i.e., taking more than the state says you may charge for rent of your property), trademark counterfeiting, unlawfully dealing in fireworks, operating as a convicted drunk driver a vehicle without an ignition interlock or rendering such a device inoperative, assorted unauthorized uses of a watershed (i.e., use of creek/stream/river water), making an unlicensed small loan, membership in/making contributions to/destroying records from a subversive organization (never mine the question of who gets to define 'subversive'), engage in any number of violations of environmental laws, or commit adultery. All of these are felonies in at least some states and conviction would leave a person a second-class citizen everywhere including states in which such activities are NOT felonies.

Not that I advocate doing so, but do you really think someone should be barred from firearm ownership for banging his neighbor's wife or selling fireworks?

 

[CZB1962]

I'm in the "only if they were convicted of a non-violent offense" camp. I certainly see the logic in keeping guns out of the hands of violent felons. Paying your debt to society is just that, paying your accrued debt. There is little reason to believe a person is less prone to rack up more of that debt once they are released.

That said, I don't think blanket legislation works in most cases. There are exceptions to every rule. The nature of the conviction should most certainly be considered, when making the determination on their future gun rights.

I guess a more accurate answer for me would be, "It depends."

This ^^^

 

[richardraw316]

This^^^

I like all of this except I respectively disagree with someone who has a violent felony being allowed to have a gun. Personally I sometimes disagree with them even being allowed to vote but I know this is going too far. To me, when they commit murder, armed robbery, rape, etc. they void these rights because they're voiding the rights of others.

how about we make the decison on a case by case basis?
example. a person way down on their luck, makes a bad decision to rob somebody. they threaten the person with an unloaded firearm. they get caught go to prison, serve their term, and live clean for ten years. they become a productive member of society. i believe their rights should be reinstated.
now on the other hand, murder. first my opinion is they took a life, they should lose theirs in exchange, be that in the ground or behind bars.
for the sake of arguement we will say released from prison for good behavior. should this person ever get all their rights back? tough one.
i would like to say no. but i also know that if this person was ready to hurt someone else again, then the theft of a firearm is not going to stop them.
they are going to kill somebody whether they have a little pink peice of paper or not.

how about today we change the laws.
1 murder. you took someones life. yours is now over as well.
2 Rape. When the person you raped is "over it" thats when you get out of jail. ie when the victim says so.
3 Attemped murder. same as murder. you do not get rewarded for being a bad aim.
4. molestation. see #2
5. Assult with a deadly weapon, and armed robbery. to be determined on a case by case basis. jury decides punishment.
everything else is not a felony, and should not haunt you the rest of your life.

 

[Bunnykid68]

All free people should be free, simple as that.

If you cannot be trusted with the right to protect yourself you probably should not be free

 

[HenryWallace]

It doesn't take a gun to kill someone. If they've been deemed safe enough to drive a car, or even EXIST anywhere near my children, then they should in turn have the rights, and the respect to be treated as equals. Just makes sense if they're going back into the public to be treated as such!

 

[dhnorris]

You commit three felonies a day The book states the average person commits three felonies a day any one of which is sufficient to strip you of your rights and bar you from a decent living. Certain criminals should never be released and some of them should never make it anywhere other than six feet under ground.

 

[public servant]

If it's a crime of violence or a high felony (A, B or C), no.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

You commit three felonies a day The book states the average person commits three felonies a day any one of which is sufficient to strip you of your rights and bar you from a decent living. Certain criminals should never be released and some of them should never make it anywhere other than six feet under ground.

What are the three felonies? I can say with certainty that I don't commit felonies on a daily basis, and I'm pretty sure the majority of people don't either.

 

[public servant]

I don't even commit 3 on the weekend.

 

[Redhorse]

I seriously doubt I've committed three felonies in my lifetime, sorry that statistic doesn't hold.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Maybe 3 misdemeanors a day, no way 3 felonies. I have never been charged with a felony

 

[HenryWallace]

You, too?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwsLAqjqnxo

I'd say it's pretty easy. We don't realize it. We shoot from the hip cause it's our daily routine, never realizing that we could be breaking these horrifyingly overreaching federal grey line 'white collar' crimes.

I also believe that driving over the speed-limit (by even a mile), changing lanes in an intersection, while not using your turn signal is in fact a felony.

So what you don't know may kill you (Or land you in prison) afterall... Why wouldn't people look this stuff up instead of asking someone that they're already doubting?