Trump Administration Seeks To Deny Gun Rights To Non-Violent “Criminals”

Donald Trump was endorsed by the NRA (National Rifle Association) and he assured his voters he’d protect their second amendment right to keep and bear arms.  Considering his new desire to keep non-violent “criminals” from owning guns, this flip-flop on values needs to be known.

Scouring through conservative alternative media left much to be desired on this, while the left-leaning outlets are having a heyday.  The truth is more important than partisan politics, so it bears mentioning that this won’t sit nicely in the belly of those on the political right. But Sessions vs. Binderup is a big deal to anyone who seeks freedom from the continued oppression of the federal government.

Trump administration lawyers are urging the Supreme Court to reject a 2nd Amendment claim that would restore the right to own a gun for two Pennsylvania men who were convicted more than 20 years ago of nonviolent crimes. –LA Times

One of the two men, Julio Suarez, has had his case consolidated with that of David Binderup. Both were convicted of nonviolent crimes and seek to have their gun rights restored.  Their “crimes” are described as the following:

Daniel Binderup, for whom the case is now named, had a consensual sexual relationship with a 17-year-old in 1998. He was sentenced to probation for three years under a misdemeanor conviction in Pennsylvania for corruption of a minor.  Julio Suarez, the other person challenging the government in the cases now consolidated, was convicted of possessing a handgun in a car without a license to carry  [permission from the government] in Maryland in 1990. –Reason

The federal government believes these incidents bar both men from legal gun ownership forever because, in Binderup’s case, it was a misdemeanor for which he could have been (though was not) given over two years’ incarceration.  In a complicated September 2016 decision from an en banc panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals (in which different elements were signed on to by different batches of judges), the Court declared that the offenses of Binderup and Suarez were not serious enough to strip them of their Second Amendment rights.

How dare Suarez not beg permission from the government before exercising his rights. But the fact that he and Binderup are not violent, and did nothing more than violate feelings based laws, they have lost their right to bear arms. This simply proves that the “snowflakes” aren’t only on the left. So much for Trump and his administration “protecting the second amendment.”  They seek to permanently deny self-defense rights to these two men, simply because their “crimes” could have resulted (but did not) in jail time.  Attorney Alan Gura, a gun rights advocate who represents the two men, said he was disappointed but not surprised.

“I am not shocked by it. The government never likes to have its authority limited,” said Gura, a Virginia lawyer who brought the landmark 2008 case District of Columbia vs. Heller, which resulted in the Supreme Court’s first ruling upholding an individual’s constitutional right to have a gun for self-defense. “They could dismiss the appeal at any time. But I have no reason to expect they will.” This has “nothing to do with disarming dangerous felons,” he said.

Last month, acting Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall, representing the Trump administration, filed another brief urging the court to hear the appeal. He said the lower court’s ruling “if allowed to stand … will place an extraordinary administrative burden” on federal judges since people with a criminal record may go to court and seek an exception to the law. “The 3rd Circuit’s conclusion that the Constitution mandates that untenable result warrants further review,” he told the justices. He also urged the court to reject Gura’s separate claim that the law should not be stretched so far.

It’s becoming blatantly obvious that all politicians are liars.  Trump is not an exception, and those making excuses for his disgusting behavior regarding this case are wearing their statist partisan beer goggles. Politicians are the ones stripping the rights and freedom from the American people, not those Trump insists on bombing overseas.  Maybe this will open a few eyes to the lengths the federal government will go to oppress the public.