My viewpoint is that if somebody is too dangerous to own a gun, then he's too dangerous to be loose on the streets.
This could trigger an avalanche of felons into Colorado.
Many states have procedures whereby a felon can get his gun rights restored. Texas even goes so far as to make it automatic if the felony was committed in Texas and 5 years have passed after completion of sentence. They do limit possession to the home, however. The feds even recognize the restoration of rights and you can have your record cleared with the NICS check, allowing you to buy firearms from licensed dealers.
I’m probably jumping into a snake pit here, but my belief is that once a man has served his time (and parole, if any), all his rights should be restored.
If he is still a danger to the community, maybe the crime should require a longer sentence. For instance, sex offender registries. Wouldn’t it be better to keep real sex offenders in prison until they can be carted out feet-first, and leave 18-year old boys who have sex with their 16-year old girlfriends out of it?
Just my opinion, fire away. I will answer as I get the chance.
Don’t like it much. I have always thought that it should be possible to have an ex-con’s RKBA restored, but it should not be easy. Still, this is FAR better than restricting gun ownership by law-abiding folks.
People in Idaho can petition to have their gun right restored five years after their final release if their crime did not involve a gun.
The right of self defense is one of the inalienable rights. The only people who should be denied this right are those who have committed violent crimes.
We have allowed government to conduct warfare against citizens in many ways. One way is that the scope of crimes that are defined as “felonies” is constantly being expanded. Long ago we have covered all crimes of violence as felonious. Now we define white collar crimes as such. In the case of the government’s complaint against Gibson Guitars, we have allowed the allegation of the violation of foreign law to be the basis for a potential felony charge here in the US.
Further, many felony-level laws in the US define a dollar amount. I believe that in US code generally if the penalty is more than $10,000, it is considered a felony. Thanks to inflation, the number of crimes which would reach this limit are slowly expanding as the Federal Reserve Corporation dilutes our currency.
All this works to bring Ayn Rand’s prediction to pass:
“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”
Many things are now felonies that shouldn’t be. Riding a bicycle in a wilderness area is one example.
None that I'm aware of. A shame really. If you're a free man, you have the inalienable right to self defense. If the supreme court intepreted the 2nd amendment the way they do the first, you'd be legally required to carry an M-16 all the time unless you were a concientious objector.
“Do any other states?”
Texas. I think it’s 5 years after completion of sentence.