Hugh,
The article you posted seemed to allude to the fact that Montana had adopted some strange new precedent in not allowing felons to own guns. In fact, Federal law has stated that for quite some time:
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). anyone “who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” is barred from possessing a gun. The only felonies that are not covered by the federal gun ban are 1) those “pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, restraints of trade, or other similar offenses relating to the regulation of business practices,” per 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20)(A); and 2) felony convictions from foreign countries, per Small v. United States, — U.S. —, 2005 WL 946620 (April 26, 2005).
As for their Constitutional rights, frankly, I could care less. To be perfectly honest, the man in the Montana example was a convicted rapist with more than one rape if I read the article correctly. I won’t lose any sleep on how he is to protect himself. That is his fault, his life decision, and guess what– what he did to those women will stay with them until their death, even though his prison sentence is done and paid for. The only one who can forgive him and absolve him is Almighty Jesus. Until then, no guns for felons – and rightfully so!
Do you lose some of your Constitutional rights as a felon? ABSOLUTELY.
o o o
Hugh,
Felon rights is a states rights thing. Losing various rights has long been considered to be one of the deterrents to criminal conduct.
Voting has been the primary question. Historically, the felon lost voting rights for life, but that has been changing.
http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights.aspx
Hugh Responds: I recognize these issues, but I still question the constitutionality of the rulings. Do you loose your ability to defend your own life and property forever? If so, who will defend it for you? In many cases our fear causes us to deprive some of their inalienable rights. In others, if the person cannot be trusted, then perhaps our correctional institutions are ineffective and should be overhauled or the person should not be out of the system yet.