Not trying to be a smart ass. I will say this: I keep my shit straight.
Not trying to be a smart ass. I will say this: I keep my shit straight.
In Arizona, I've heard more than one instructor warn students during their safety portion that owners have been strung up in the past for having an ND in their home, dutifully informing law enforcement afterward, and then get a letter in the mail informing them that they're losing their rights due to unlawful discharge of a firearm within city limits.
https://azleg.gov/ars/13/03107.htm
Here is a new one in CT. Improper storage of firearm.
https://www.nhregister.com/policerep...pIfrQ_2EASG28E
After being told how the gun was stored in the home, police said they felt they had to go forward and charge her with the criminal offenses, Conklin said.
“Under the new gun storage law, because she has three kids under the age of 18, she was required to keep her gun locked up,” Conklin said. “The investigating officers found that was not the case and completed a warrant charging her with reckless endangerment and failure to properly store the pistol.”
Conklin said the woman had a valid pistol permit for the weapon, which has been seized and sent to state police for review.
The way I read that, a person has to be prosecuted and convicted for that to be a class 6 felony, and and the prosecutor has the discretion to pursue it either as a felony or class 1 misdemeanor - and the language kind of indicates that it’s not supposed to automatically be a felony.Originally Posted by Yung
The last thing I'm reporting to anyone is a desk pop. From outside a house, you can hardly hear a pistol round go off inside a house if you're not paying attention.
A person convicted of that crime would not be classified as a federally prohibited person under 18 USC 922(g) unless the prosecutor went for an aggravated charge. From what I'm reading, a Class 6 Felony in AZ is punishable by up to 1 year; in excess of 1 year looks to require aggravating factors. Maybe in AZ 1 year imprisonment is a felony under state law, but it's not under federal law. Federal law regards felonies as any crime punishable in excess of one year.
To avoid confusion with state laws over this (NJ doesn't even classify felonies and misdemeanors, for instance), 18 USC 922(g)(1) makes it simple: "who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;"
So, Arizona calling this a "Class 6 Felony" has no bearing on whether you would be a prohibited person if convicted. Maybe I'm reading bad scoop on Arizona's laws, so some of the LEOs here should correct me if I'm wrong. A felony certainly seems excessive for an ND within city limits. That's usually an ordinance fine or misdemeanor in most states.
Last edited by TGS; 02-01-2020 at 06:33 AM.
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
As do I, but I do have one concern with state law. Trespass with a firearm is a felony here. Get disoriented and wander off the reservation, meet an intolerant landowner or game warden, and you can wind up in serious trouble.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
All of the worst ones I've ever seen were the result of convictions under common law indefinite sentencing. With indefinite sentencing, any misdemeanor triggers the federal ban because it's a misdemeanor punishable by more than two years imprisonment. This is the case even for offenses where no one in the history of the state received such a harsh sentence. (Simple battery, petit larceny, etc.). Depending on the law of the state, it's also difficult for these people to get their rights back. States usually don't have civil rights restoration procedures for misdemeanors, governors' pardon powers are often limited to felonies, and state expungements are questionably effective to remove a federal firearms disability.
A Class 6 “Felony” conviction may make one a prohibited person under AZ law. As I’m sure you know, some states have stricter rules/more ways to become a prohibited person than are in 922(g).
On the other end of the spectrum, some states (VT and IN?) don’t have state-level bans on all convicted felons possessing firearms. Federal law still applies, of course.
Wow.That is disturbing. One can only wonder about motivation behind the felony part of this law. I readily see how a person could be trapped unknowingly. 45 years ago two acquaintances of mine were hunting in the Texas Hill Country, became lost, and were held at gun point by an angry landowner who summoned a game warden. These two were charged with criminal trespass, a misdemeanor. My take on this is that the landowner was not a gentleman. He should have given the two lost guys a ride back to their vehicles. Then all would have shaken hands. One of the lost men was a Remington rep. The other also was a professional person.
One of the reasons I am reluctant to carry a weapon on my person in other states that have agreements with Texas is that I never know what type of trap that my ignorance might propel me into. As a stranger, I might be unaware of the law's fine print. Too, as a stranger, I might get the green weenie that a local person could avoid.
Before my parents died, I made countless 1000 mile round trips between my Texas and Mississippi homes. I would pass through a large number of police jurisdictions, each with its own focus. Always my vehicle was clean. I dressed neatly and began the trips freshly showered and shaved. In my car were books and paperwork showing that I was a teacher. Too there was a bible. I traveled with an 870 which legally could be loaded and uncased. I never exceeded the speed limit but used a radar detector because I wanted to know where radar was being run. I made the trip so many times that the same trooper in Tyler, Texas would flash his lights, and I would stop and have coffee with him. He became buds with my Dalmatian dog and would bug me about buying my 870 which was super nice. He and I were both gentlemen.
I have always tried to avoid legal problems but do agree that people can get trapped in bullshit. The uninformed, the poor, and minorities may be at risk in addition to the regular Joe. We have to be careful.
Reply With Quote