Did A Missouri Law Accidentally Gives Felons The Right To Own Guns?

By Bob Owens

One of the most common mistakes of some gun right supporters is failing to understand that the Bill of Rights , including the Second Amendment, was written to constrain the federal government. It was not written to establish what each state may do, which is why each state has their own constitution and sets of laws to apply specifically within their borders. As part of these state-level laws, most states enshrined a right to bear arms (not all did), and many passed further restrictions on what rights convicted felons may have after they are released from prison, including denying them the right to bear arms.

Missouri is one of those many states that feels public safety is best preserved if felons remain disarmed after they are released from incarceration, but lawyers are now arguing that a gun rights law recently passed in the state gives them their gun rights back, even though the author of the legislation, known as Amendment 5, claims that was never his intent:

The amendment, supported by 60 percent of voters, declares the right to keep and bear arms “unalienable” and subjects laws restricting gun rights to “strict scrutiny.”

It repealed language that said …read more

Source:: Bearing Arms