JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Attorney General is making the case that non-violent felons should not have their right to own a gun taken away.
In Florida, and nearly everywhere else in the United States, when a person is convicted of a felony they lose their Second Amendment rights.
In Florida, that suspension is permanent, short of being granted clemency, which is a process that can take years or even decades.
Second Amendment Attorney James Phillips argued he often sees cases where the penalty simply seems too harsh.
“Back in the 70’s when they were 19 years old, they get in trouble for something that was deemed a felony charge and then they haven’t been in trouble since,” said Phillips. ”You know, and for someone like that to permanently be banned from possessing a firearm, a right that our constitution provides us in order to defend ourselves, I think it’s just too extreme.”
And now Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is making the case it’s unconstitutional to suspend non-violent felons’ firearm rights.
Uthmeier laid out his argument in a brief filed in a case involving a man who lost his right to bear arms after being caught possessing a firearm without a license in another state.
In the brief, Uthmeier argued laws disarming nonviolent felons are “not consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation”.
Uthmeier explained he believes drug offenses should still count as violent felonies as the drug trade is “notoriously violent”.
“To do a blanket allowance of gun ownership without there being some sort of process of oversight is very concerning from a public safety perspective,” State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said.
Eskamani argued Uthmeier is once again attempting to circumvent the legislature to loosen Florida’s gun laws.
Recently, Uthmeier intervened in a case dealing with open carry of firearms and argued against the state’s open carry prohibition.
As a result, a state appeals court declared the state’s open carry ban unconstitutional, which led to a statewide policy shift.
“I think it’s really important for the legislature to be the body that defines laws and the executive branch to enforce them, not to leverage their position to continuously change them,” Eskamani said.
Even if Uthmeier succeeds in overturning the state law, the issue wouldn’t be fully settled.
Federal law also suspends felons’ Second Amendment rights, violent and nonviolent alike.
But Criminal Defense Attorney Chris Carson argued the federal government could turn a blind eye if Florida were to move in another direction, as it does in states that have legalized marijuana.
“Because there would just be a lot of volume and a lot going on. So, I think it would, not that it would never happen, but it just makes it less likely,” Carson said.
The Florida Prosecuting Attorney’s Association filed a brief opposing the AG’s view on suspending non-violent felons’ gun rights.
The group represents 20 State Attorneys in Florida.
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