Felon Gun Possession Ban Upheld Under Second Amendment Test

The as-applied challenge to a defendant’s conviction for being a felon-in-possession of a gun was properly dismissed by a district court, the Fourth Circuit said Wednesday.

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the US Supreme Court recognized the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns for self defense. Then, in Hamilton v. Pallozzi, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the felon-in-possession statute, under which convicted felons aren’t allowed to own guns, survived as-applied challenges, unless the felony conviction was pardoned or the law defining the crime of conviction was declared unlawful, Judge Toby ...