nope the way its worded is any felony state or federal which carries a max sentence of more than 1 year (which is pretty much all felonies) triggers a lifetime federal ban, also any misdemeanor state or federal of which your maximum sentence can be more than 2 years also triggers the federal gun ban. even if you only get probation and a fine, because your maximum sentence "could have been" more than a year for a felony or 2 years for a misdemeanor it triggers the federal ban. and like i said white collar crimes dont count, so you can rob a thousand people out of their life savings via a ponzi scheme and still be allowed to own a firearm, is that fair? i dont think so. even though PA state law says 3 DUI within 5 years is considering disabling, a first or second DUI can trigger the federal ban, so even though by your own states laws you are not prohibited, you are still prohibited under federal law. if you get one DUI and have a high BAC your rights are taken under federal law, as a high BAC DUI can be considered a misdemeanor of the first degree, which under state law isnt prohibiting, but is under federal law because a M1 carries a max sentence of 5 years. but even if you never did 1 day in jail, your still prohibited for the rest of your life, and if you even get caught with a bullet your pretty much going straight to prison.

For the most part, yes.....

"" Highlights:
Among state prisoners released in 30 states in
2005—
About two-thirds (67.8%) of released
prisoners were arrested for a new crime within
3 years, and three-quarters (76.6%) were
arrested within 5 years.
Within 5 years of release, 82.1% of property
offenders were arrested for a new crime,
compared to 76.9% of drug offenders, 73.6%
of public order offenders, and 71.3% of violent
offenders.
More than a third (36.8%) of all prisoners who
were arrested within 5 years of release were
arrested within the first 6 months after
release, with more than half (56.7%) arrested
by the end of the first year.
Two in five (42.3%) released prisoners were
either not arrested or arrested once in the 5
years after their release.
A sixth (16.1%) of released prisoners were
responsible for almost half (48.4%) of the
nearly 1.2 million arrests that occurred in the
5-year follow-up period.
An estimated 10.9% of released prisoners were
arrested in a state other than the one that
released them during the 5-year follow-up
period
Within 5 years of release, 84.1% of inmates
who were age 24 or younger at release were
arrested, compared to 78.6% of inmates ages
25 to 39 and 69.2% of those age 40 or older.""
http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4986


Lol well hell, thats just simple, dont commit a felony.....no matter how stupid you think a law is. Actions have consequences. And a person should know those consequences and act accordingly.

I DO agree with you about the absurdlity of the PA DUI laws and how they effect firearms ownership. But...if I were a resident of that state, Id know that is a potential consequence of driving under the influence.....which, doing that, is particulary stupid these days.

its not even really the PA DUI laws that are bad, 3 DUI within 5 years is pretty lenient IMO some people make mistakes, sometimes even twice, but 3 times is pushing it. its the federal laws that i feel are absurd, as its the federal laws that can make 1 DUI a lifetime ban of firearm ownership. and like i said i think the reasons felons have a high rate of recidivism is because theyre treated like 2nd class citizens in the eyes of the public for the rest of their life giving them the attitude of "well who cares, if everyone is going to always consider me to be a criminal, i might as well just be a criminal". i cant say thats true for every felon but i feel like for alot of them that is the case. but to say once a felon, always a felon just isnt true, people can change and they do. im sure alot of felons serve their time and come out changed and try to live productive normal lives, but always have that label hanging over them as someone who is bad or cant be trusted. but i feel like taking away someones rights of self protection for life for a non violent offense is just completely ridiculous. and part of the recidivism i blame on the current prison system as you can go in someone who made a mistake and is thrown into a world of violent murderers, child molesters etc. i cant even imagine trying to live in that kind of environment without becoming "bad" yourself. im personally not a felon, but i know felons who are completely normal and realize theyre mistakes and dont want to ever repeat those mistakes. my opinion is if there is going to be any "gun control" it should be left to the states to decide and not the federal gov. as thats not their job, the constitution states all other matters should be left to the states. but to say someone should be barred for victimless, non violent crimes i feel is just a blatant attack on the 2nd amendment by the feds. there should be no lifetime ban on firearms for non violent, victimless crimes.

I agree with that wholeheartedly.......There is no way someone in Washington DC can relate to how I live here in Louisiana. And what may work in California might not work here either....and vice versa.

As far as felons go, I heard of several regaining all their rights after petiioning for them back.....of course, they were all nonviolent and didnt screw up while waiting to petition. Maybe its easier here, I dont know....but I dont intend to find out how easy or dificult it is.

Sadly, we have gone from the rule of law to the rule of enforcement.

A felon can petition and go through a bureaucratic paperwork process to have their civil rights "restored."

I think if you were convicted of a nonviolent crime it's easier than if you were convicted of a violent crime.

I think it also depends on whether or not you were tried and convicted by the state or federal courts.
A state felony can be different than a federal felony, although sometimes something considered a misdemeanor by the state can be considered a felony federally.

So yeah, the government can "strip your rights" when you break the law in certain ways, but you can use the law to "restore" your rights too, you just have to put in the work yourself, they aren't going to chase you down and do it for you.

As far as the rights to bear arms/own a weapon >>> There were many arguments submitted before our SCOTUS and there are pages and pages of submission and they all reference this same wording ... but feel free to go to the link I've provided and read the SCOTUS ruling; it's worth reading!



And that's the crux of the entire issue; once a felon has been adjudicated his/her "DUE PROCESS OF LAW" then what ever that STATES LAWS regarding 'Gun Procession/Ownership' is what that felon has to abide by --- hence the reasons that you must remember to check all the state statutes that you will need to abide by should you ever relocate!

Now as far as obtaining your right to vote:

http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/page.cfm?id=133

The "Sentencing Project" has been around for a number of years and this has allowed a number of felons to petition their respective states to obtain their right to vote!

Excellent topic and interesting reading - TY

so once your sentence is complete, you only need to abide by state law?

legal terms confuse me

According to each & every argument that I read through the SCOTUS justices were in agreement; that the 14th amendment placed the ruling right back to the State to Adjudicate!
So if that specific state doesn't have an appeal process for felons to 'obtain a CCW/owner permit'...even for hunting uses --- then they are screwed. **one case was about a elderly person in Chicago and how they were in dire need of a weapon/hand gun for home protection...sadly the city &/state regulations precluded felons from legally owning any/all weapons due to recent changes in their gun laws from their high incidents in violent crimes; the elderly person lost the higher court ruling!**

There was a lot of legalize discussion about 'citizenry' and what that word meant once a human crossed over and became a 'CRIMINAL' and lost their RIGHTS! That was looked at in finite detail according to the wording of the forefathers and the 2nd amendment and that wording did change after our Civil War and the 14th amendment was added.

Guess it pays to know your state statutes if your going to be a bad a$$ as in those states that have the '3 strikes and you are OUT' laws. KS is not one of them.

good friend of mine has 2 DUI in PA and the second was classified a misdemeanor 1 which apparently triggers a federal gun ban regardless of what state law says, hes not prohibited by the state he lives in hes prohibited by the feds.

And here is where a decent attorney with an excellent working knowledge of the 'LAW' will be able to help him; but unfortunately those 'GOOD LEGAL PEOPLE' aren't what we see on TV and the number of piss poor legal people are a dime a dozen! Well, to be serious & honest $$$ talks and BS walks and that's what makes the system work for everyone!

Yea I just did some reading on your DUI laws....they can be confusing. Seems a 2nd offense, even though its a misdeamor, MAY carry a sentence of up to 2 years. Thats what the fed law looks at....the fact that you were convicted of a crime with a possible sentence of a year or more....any sentence over a year and youre done. (Thats not verbatim, just how I understood it to read)
Feel free to correct me if Im wrong.

any felony state or federal which carries a max sentence of more than 1 year (which is pretty much all felonies) triggers a lifetime federal ban, also any misdemeanor state or federal of which your maximum sentence can be more than 2 years also triggers the federal gun ban. even if you only get probation and a fine, because your maximum sentence "could have been" more than a year for a felony or 2 years for a misdemeanor it triggers the federal ban.

that was the best i could get out of it by looking at the actual laws. apparently there is some form from the ATF that restores your rights on the federal level, but the government wont provide the ATF with any money to process the applications so you'll end up getting a reply of "sorry, these cannot be processed at this time.". i also heard you can file for a governors pardon, but in PA it can take up to 4 years from the time you file till you actually go to court. its pretty expensive (3,000$) with an attorney and theres no guarantee you will get them back. and i dont even know if thats true or not

Yep, gotcha...the sentence has to have the possibility of being more than two years, thanks.

lol, or paranoid people



if only it were that simple to weed them out,,,,

If only...