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JUDGE: STATE CAN BAN FELONS FROM POSSESSING FIREARMS
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 -- 10:13 am
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
A Clark County judge says Wisconsin’s law banning convicted felons from possessing firearms is constitutional.
In a ruling issued Monday, Judge Jon Counsell sided with District Attorney Darwin Zwieg and denied a defense motion to dismiss the charge against Merlin Tackes.
Tackes was charged with felony possession of a firearm last year after he was caught hunting in Clark County. He was convicted of felony theft in 1983.
Attorney Matthew Prior filed a motion to dismiss the case, noting theft is not considered a “violent offense” in Wisconsin, and the state has “no compelling interest” to prohibit non-violent felons from owning a gun.
But Judge Counsell concurred with Zwieg, who argued two recent Supreme Court rulings, praised by gun rights supporters, draw distinctions between the rights of felons and non-felons.
In one of those cases, District of Columbia v. Heller, the prevailing opinion specifically states the decision shouldn’t “cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons.”
Judge Counsell made headlines in October when he ruled Wisconsin’s ban on carrying concealed weapons is unconstitutional.
In that case, he ruled the prohibition was overly broad and violates both the Second Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.
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