Firearms Policy Coalition: Nonviolent Felons Have Second Amendment Rights

[Elderberry]

Ammoland by Duncan Johnson 2/5/2021

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and Firearms Policy Foundation (FPF) announced the filing of an important United States Supreme Court brief in the case of Flick v. Wilkinson, a case challenging the federal lifetime firearms prohibition for felons. The brief, authored by FPC’s Director of Constitutional Studies, Joseph Greenlee, is FPC’s fourth U.S. Supreme Court brief filed in less than three weeks, and FPF’s third, and is available at FPCLegal.org.

In 1987, Mr. Flick was convicted of copyright violation and smuggling for importing counterfeit cassette tapes. After serving four-and-a-half months in a halfway house and completing probation and community service, Mr. Flick has been a law-abiding citizen ever since. But he is nonetheless prohibited from possessing a firearm for the rest of his life under federal law. Mr. Flick challenged the lifetime ban for felons as it applies to him—a peaceable citizen who has been law-abiding for over three decades—alleging that it violates his right to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against him, and he petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review his case.

FPC and FPF filed a brief in support of Mr. Flick’s petition that provides the Court with a deep historical analysis covering arms prohibitions from medieval England to mid-twentieth century America, proving that only violent people have traditionally been prohibited from possessing arms throughout both American history and the English tradition it builds upon. The federal prohibition on nonviolent criminals, like Mr. Flick, is thus not supported by the original public meaning and understanding of the Second Amendment.

    “Mr. Flick committed a nonviolent crime nearly 35 years ago, and has been a law-abiding citizen ever since,” said FPC’s Joseph Greenlee. “The founders never intended for someone like him to be deprived of the right to own a firearm for any period of time, not to mention for life. We’re hopeful that the Court will grant certiorari and clarify that nonviolent persons, like Mr. Flick, cannot be prohibited from owning a firearm.”

More: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/02/firearms-policy-coalition-nonviolent-felons-have-second-amendment-rights/