Nonviolent Felons In Arkansas May Get Their Gun Rights Back

As it stands, we currently disarm anyone convicted of a felony. They’re disarmed for life unless they get their rights restored by a court.

Tom Knighton, for Bearing Arms

But the problem is that not all felonies are created equal. While violent felonies are a legitimate concern and history shows that a lot of those folks go on to commit more felonies, but a lot of felons aren’t violent and are never going to be violent.

Should they be prevented from owning a gun? I’d say not.

It seems some lawmakers in Arkansas agree and are looking to change things.

 In just a little over a month, lawmakers in Arkansas will have the chance to decide on whether or not they will approve expanding and restoring gun rights to non-violent felons.

On Monday, Republican State Representative Scott Richardson of Bentonville introduced House Bill 1057.

If approved, it would restore the right for nonviolent felons to possess a firearm.

“I like to use the analogy of a hot check. If an individual created a hot check 30 years ago and changed their ways, now it’s been 10 years, and they’ve not created any more challenges for society. They should have that opportunity,” Richardson described.

…

Now, Richardson hopes that with addition of a few changes like adding more restrictions on who immediately can possess a firearm will make a difference.

“We feel like by adding the 10-year cooling off period so that an individual can validate that they have changed, it provides an opportunity to address those concerns, both on the House and the Senate,” Richardson added.

Now, I’m not overly thrilled about a 10-year “cooling off” period, but that’s going to make it more palatable to a lot of people, and that’s going to be necessary to see this one get passed.

Read the article in its entirety at Bearing Arms.

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