Today, the National Rifle Association, along with the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and FPC Action Foundation, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the federal lifetime prohibition on firearms possession by nonviolent felons.
The case, Zherka v. Bondi, was brought by Selim Zherka, who pleaded guilty over a decade ago to a charge of conspiracy to make a false statement to a bank and to sign and file a false federal income tax return. Because the crime was punishable by over one year’s imprisonment, under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), he is forever prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Our brief provides a detailed historical analysis demonstrating that peaceable citizens—including nonviolent felons—were never disarmed throughout American history. From the earliest colonial days through the nineteenth century, the government disarmed only dangerous persons. Moreover, historically, upon completing their sentences, nonviolent offenders not only had full access to their Second Amendment protected rights, but the able-bodied males were required to keep and bear arms under the state and federal militia acts. Therefore, the brief concludes, Section 922(g)(1) as applied to nonviolent felons is inconsistent with historical tradition and should be held unconstitutional.
Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights, and please visit www.nraila.org/litigation to keep up to date on NRA-ILA’s ongoing litigation efforts.
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