A federal appeals court upheld the constitutionality of a lifetime ban on gun possession for anyone convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Monday that a person convicted of domestic violence is disqualified from the core right of Second Amendment to possess firearms for defense of the home.
The only two exceptions are: if the conviction is expunged or set aside and if the offender is pardoned and has his or her civil rights restored.
Daniel E. Chovan, of San Diego, challenged the law as unconstitutional violation of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision recognizing a personal right to possess handguns found the core of the Second Amendment right “is to allow ‘law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home,’” the opinion states.
Chovan didn’t meet that requirement.
“Keeping guns from domestic violence misdemeanants is substantially related to the broader interest of preventing domestic gun violence,” wrote Judge Harry Pregerson. Because the gun ban “is supported by an important government interest and substantially related to that interest, the statute passes constitutional muster…” he said.
That's the Ninth Circuit's ruling. They're reliably left on the spectrum. We'll see what happens, though criminals don't do well when they claim Second Amendment protection.
ReplyDeleteAs always, I see crimes of violence as something that we're much too lax about. That's often because punishing violent criminals would take up room needed to imprison pot smokers, showing a strange set of priorities. Some crimes, such as rape and murder, should earn a life sentence. But once lesser violent offenders have done their time and have shown themselves reformed, rights should be restored.
The guy who promotes breaking the law, tells us what the law should be. You would be funny, if you weren't such a criminal liar.
DeleteI'm sure the Ninth Circuit is reliably left. (Good thing?) But the law was passed in 1996 by Gingrich's 104th congress, the same guys that engineered the original government shutdown. Even hard-core rightie-conservative anti-tax, welfare reform guys at one time had a conscience when it came to violence against women. You would think that would be one thing we could all agree on.
DeleteYou make an interesting plea. A relatively minimal assault to be sure. But still a domestic assault upon a woman. Should this guy have been given a stiffer sentence than the 120 days jail time and then have his full rights restored? Nobody would very likely lose their gun rights for life after simply getting into a barfight, although the level of violence might have been much more serious. I think this is a very important exception, when a man inflicts violence upon his own spouse or partner. This is one of the most egregious, yet commonplace abuses of power throughout our society.
Chovan was first investigated by the FBI after failing his background check, and at the same time denying any prior domestic violence convictions. The arrest itself in 2010 had more to do with a second allegation of domestic violence against his estranged wife, Cheryl Fix.
From the court document:
In 2009, Chovan applied to purchase a firearm from a San Diego area gun dealer. He completed a required application form and answered “no” to the question whether he had ever been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. His purchase application was denied after a background check revealed his 1996 Misdemeanor conviction of domestic violence. At the time of his application, Chovan could legally possess a firearm under California law because ten years had passed since his 1996 conviction, but §922(g) (9) continued to bar him from possessing a firearm.
The FBI received information about Chovan’s attempted purchase and began investigating Chovan. During their investigation, FBI agents found videos on the Internet depicting Chovan and others shooting rifles and conducting border patrols” near the U.S.-Mexico border. The FBI also learned that in March 2010, San Diego County Sheriff deputies responded to a domestic dispute at Chovan’s residence. Cheryl Fix, Chovan’s then-estranged wife, told the officers that Chovan had become violent, hit her with a cell phone, and threatened to hunt her down and shoot her if she ever left him. Fix said that she believed Chovan’s threats because he had weapons inside his house. On April 15, 2010, FBI and Bureau of Alcohol,tTobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents executed a search warrant of Chovan’s house.
Although it had been fourteen years since his 1996 conviction, Chovan continued to exhibit his dangerous and threatening behavior toward women. It is also of some note that his activities on the California-Mexico border also exhibit hard-core right-wing hatred. This is a good law that never would pass today. This is also a good example of background checks protecting American women.
I'm not concerned about this one individual. In general terms, when someone of either sex abuses a domestic partner, that should be treated with much more seriousness than we currently show. I do hope that at least some offenders can be reformed and returned to full participation in society, but I'm not too worried about rushing them through to acceptance again.
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