Joined: 02-24-2012 Posts: 17,306 |
cacman wrote:Huh... here I thought it was a Federal law that prohibited convicted Felons (not misdemeanor) from owning any firearms (rifles, shotguns, & handguns)? Statue of limitations used to be 7yrs but was changed to 10yrs. After 10yrs you could apply, but chances of concealed carry are slim. Didn't think it was different from State to State? How many times have we heard that thre are 10,000 gun laws on the books and that we don't need more, but to enforce the ones already on the books? It seems there is an abundant duplicity of laws spread across multiple jurisdictions. In this case there is a federal statute that prohibits certain convicted felons from possessing a firearm: Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).
It shall be unlawful for any person-
(1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
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to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Then there is the Louisiana statute that somewhat resembles this law: §95.1. Possession of firearm or carrying concealed weapon by a person convicted of certain felonies
A. It is unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a crime of violence as defined in R.S. 14:2(B) which is a felony or simple burglary, burglary of a pharmacy, burglary of an inhabited dwelling, unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, felony illegal use of weapons or dangerous instrumentalities, manufacture or possession of a delayed action incendiary device, manufacture or possession of a bomb, or possession of a firearm while in the possession of or during the sale or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, or any violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law which is a felony, or any crime which is defined as a sex offense in R.S. 15:541, or any crime defined as an attempt to commit one of the above-enumerated offenses under the laws of this state, or who has been convicted under the laws of any other state or of the United States or of any foreign government or country of a crime which, if committed in this state, would be one of the above-enumerated crimes, to possess a firearm or carry a concealed weapon.
B. Whoever is found guilty of violating the provisions of this Section shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than ten nor more than twenty years without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence and be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 14:27, whoever is found guilty of attempting to violate the provisions of this Section shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not more than seven and one-half years and fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars.
C. The provisions of this Section prohibiting the possession of firearms and carrying concealed weapons by persons who have been convicted of certain felonies shall not apply to any person who has not been convicted of any felony for a period of ten years from the date of completion of sentence, probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.
D. For the purposes of this Section, "firearm" means any pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, submachine gun, black powder weapon, or assault rifle which is designed to fire or is capable of firing fixed cartridge ammunition or from which a shot or projectile is discharged by an explosive.
Added by Acts 1975, No. 492, §2. Amended by Acts 1980, No. 279, §1; Acts 1985, No. 947, §1; Acts 1990, No. 328, §1; Acts 1992, No. 403, §1; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 28, §1; Acts 1995, No. 987, §1; Acts 2003, No. 674, §1; Acts 2009, No. 154, §1; Acts 2009, No. 160, §1; Acts 2010, No. 815, §1; Acts 2010, No. 942, §1.Why not scrap the Louisiana law and let local law enforcement agencies charge people with he federal statute? The devil is in the details. As a LEO, I'm sworn to uphold the law, including federal laws. The problem is no federal judge would accept an affidavit of probable cause from me since I'm not a federal agent. Therefore, I would arrest someone for violating he state statute. Then my agency may or may not offer the case to the federal prosecutor. If it did, the federal prosecutor may or may not choose to prosecute. The state law gives the state the ability to prosecute when he feds choose not to. In reality, very few cases that can be prosecuted at the state level make it to the federal docket. Hope this clarifies things.
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