A 2-1 panel faulted a provision of Mississippi’s state constitution that mandates lifetime disenfranchisement for people convicted of crimes including murder, rape and theft.
Does this precedent have gun control implications? Does criminal activity selectively disqualify you from certain constitutional protections but not others?
I certainly have personal thoughts on the matter but curious what it implies more objectively.
The argument almost certainly requires a consistent logical reason for why it should be taken away. The argument for taking away rights to firearms is that they may be more dangerous, which I would bet the court agrees with. What is the harm being caused by allowing felons to vote though?
Your rights are infrenged all the time. They have to have a justifiable reason to do so though. You can be detained with reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed, for example. Your rights are not unlimited.
“[No person shall…] be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…”
The constitution does not have a problem with suspending an individual’s rights, as long as “due process” is followed. You can deny a person’s right to freedom, to travel, to associate with others. You can deny them the right to own or possess property. You can even revoke their right to life itself, as a punishment for a severe enough crime. The constitution allows all of that.
I have no problem with the idea that a person can be permanently deprived of their gun rights as part of a penalty for a crime, but if that person cannot ever be trusted with guns, they should be under the permanent supervision of the state.
Does this precedent have gun control implications? Does criminal activity selectively disqualify you from certain constitutional protections but not others?
I certainly have personal thoughts on the matter but curious what it implies more objectively.
The argument almost certainly requires a consistent logical reason for why it should be taken away. The argument for taking away rights to firearms is that they may be more dangerous, which I would bet the court agrees with. What is the harm being caused by allowing felons to vote though?
Your rights are infrenged all the time. They have to have a justifiable reason to do so though. You can be detained with reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed, for example. Your rights are not unlimited.
I have no idea why taking a felons gun rights is constitutional. To me, it opens up other avenues of taking gun rights away from people.
“[No person shall…] be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…”
The constitution does not have a problem with suspending an individual’s rights, as long as “due process” is followed. You can deny a person’s right to freedom, to travel, to associate with others. You can deny them the right to own or possess property. You can even revoke their right to life itself, as a punishment for a severe enough crime. The constitution allows all of that.
I have no problem with the idea that a person can be permanently deprived of their gun rights as part of a penalty for a crime, but if that person cannot ever be trusted with guns, they should be under the permanent supervision of the state.