floridas amendment 4 has created a loophole for covicted felons

article 7 section 4a of the florida state constitution states "No person convicted of a felony, or adjudicated in this or any other state to be mentally incompetent, shall be qualified to vote or hold office until restoration of civil rights or removal of disability." www.flsenate.gov...
this means that amendment 4 requires the state to restore all of your civil rights if you have not been convicted of murder or sexual assault. that means the state of florida is now legally required to restore your right to bear arms if this pertains to you. you will need to contact a lawyer and have your day in court still. ballotpedia.org...(2018)

a reply to: fightzone58

Federal law prevents a felon from gun possession and most certainly ownership. Constructive possession which if a felon is in a house or car with a gun can bring 5 years. So Federal law in most cases supersedes state laws so I don't believe it matters.

a reply to: fightzone58

I don't think that would apply to felons, they still have the federal felon laws governing them when it comes to firearm ownership. Federal laws concerning firearms for felons trump the state laws.

We have other civil rights that might be restricted sometimes if you live in some states. I think this has more to do with voting or holding a political position than gun ownership.

a reply to: fightzone58
The federal law pre emption will prevent a ffl nice check approval. But it would technically not be illegal to buy it privately under state law.

If you misuse it however, federal law will charge you. If you use it in self defense, state law may protect you. Unless a federal agency has a gripe with you specifically, you still have a strong self defense case at the state law.

As always, consult bar certified legal counsel.

the federal law makes a valid point but the state of florida now has a loophole to get all other rights reinstated

a reply to: fightzone58

Its my understanding that there was a time in our history when people's rights (all of their rights) were restored once they had served their punishment.

That should never have changed.

Interesting, that I just saw today, that NFL players were backing this proposal, and happy it passed.

a reply to: chiefsmom

that doesnt make much sense since a lot of nfl players have been convicted of sexual assault. i personally have no felonies. i just enjoy making fun of stupid laws

a reply to: fightzone58

I don't understand your point, the Florida law is about restoring voting rights to a convicted felon. It is still illegal according to Federal law for a felon to own a weapon. Most states now allow upon completion of a sentence and any parole or probation for a restoration of voting rights to convicted felons. Federal law trumps state law, so no state is able to restore gun rights to convicted felons. No other rights are denied other than possession or ownership of a gun.

The only purpose for a denial of voting rights to convicted individuals that I know of is to prevent having a prisoner voting while incarcerated, what a nightmare for prison officials to arrange for everyone to vote. Safety issue and logistical. No reason I can find to deny voting rights after the completion of a sentence, other than to continue to punish.

The Florida is also starting that someone who is found to be mentally incompetent can thru continued adjudication have those gun rights restored if found competent again by a court. One can be found mentally incompetent without any criminal act involved. One can attain treatment and have rights restored. Convicted felons can not have gun rights restored. It is not a loophole, I think you are misreading it.

I must correct my post, as there are some states after a certain amount of time, 10 years in Louisana as an example after a felony conviction that an individual can again apply for a permit. Oregon is another state that allows under certain circumstances a felon to apply. Read more here.

www.cga.ct.gov...

"shall be qualified to vote or hold office."

a reply to: DJMSN

my point is that the law offers a loophole to regain all civil rights on a state level. i also just realized that i made a typo in the post. it is article 6 section 4a

I think half of the people in Florida above 21 have some kind of court record. The state seems to attract criminal minded people. I know people living down there. There are probably some places that do not have as many people with a criminal record, but where the hell are they.

originally posted by: gladtobehere
a reply to: fightzone58

Its my understanding that there was a time in our history when people's rights (all of their rights) were restored once they had served their punishment.

That should never have changed.

Totally agree!

originally posted by: gladtobehere
a reply to: fightzone58

Its my understanding that there was a time in our history when people's rights (all of their rights) were restored once they had served their punishment.

That should never have changed.

The process has not changed.
There was always a time period to prove one could remain clean
And then a review by the State