The real problem is that this sort of issue comes up FAR more often than it used to.... because the gov't is FAR to willing to make non-violent crimes into felonies. IMO... "the right to keep and bear arms" should only be restricted when a person has actually been convicted of a violent crime.
There used to only be a few Federal felonies. Now there are many.
Actually my then 63 year old father was forced to plead guilty to a felony after he retired with 35 years of service to DoD as a civilian. He got all these awards and citations over the years, wonderful employee, never had any sort of trouble with the law. But before he left his job, he was told to write out the job requirements for his job. Which he did and they were approved. Then once he retired, he applied for his old job as a contract employee. He was hired since he had all the experience. But the Feds were after Boeing at the time and needed some examples. (Dad didn't work for Boeing.) So they prosecuted my Dad for creating a job profile to fit him specifically. So that he could then come back and work as a contractor. Basically what people in his position had been doing since gov't jobs began. But the Feds told him he either had to plead guilty to one count (a felony) or go to trial and risk actually going to prison. Which scared my senior citizen Dad to death. The very idea of going to jail. So he pled guilty.
That was 7-8 years ago. The conviction is still in place despite many efforts to get a pardon. He spent over $20k in lawyer fees. He still can't own guns or vote. And he still feels like his lifelong reputation was besmirched for no good reason.
As his son, I obviously don't think he should have been convicted of anything. But the really sure thing is that he shouldn't have been convicted of a felony. That's crazy. He's never hurt anybody in his life but he's still not allowed to own guns. I bought all his old guns from him and keep them here at my house. Just hoping that someday he will get a pardon and I will get to sell them back to him. I know for a fact that getting a pardon would make him smile so much that his face would start to hurt. It was an emotional trauma for him and he still feels it. He was proud of his service at DoD and somehow that all got thrown in the trash.
Gregg
There used to only be a few Federal felonies. Now there are many.
Actually my then 63 year old father was forced to plead guilty to a felony after he retired with 35 years of service to DoD as a civilian. He got all these awards and citations over the years, wonderful employee, never had any sort of trouble with the law. But before he left his job, he was told to write out the job requirements for his job. Which he did and they were approved. Then once he retired, he applied for his old job as a contract employee. He was hired since he had all the experience. But the Feds were after Boeing at the time and needed some examples. (Dad didn't work for Boeing.) So they prosecuted my Dad for creating a job profile to fit him specifically. So that he could then come back and work as a contractor. Basically what people in his position had been doing since gov't jobs began. But the Feds told him he either had to plead guilty to one count (a felony) or go to trial and risk actually going to prison. Which scared my senior citizen Dad to death. The very idea of going to jail. So he pled guilty.
That was 7-8 years ago. The conviction is still in place despite many efforts to get a pardon. He spent over $20k in lawyer fees. He still can't own guns or vote. And he still feels like his lifelong reputation was besmirched for no good reason.
As his son, I obviously don't think he should have been convicted of anything. But the really sure thing is that he shouldn't have been convicted of a felony. That's crazy. He's never hurt anybody in his life but he's still not allowed to own guns. I bought all his old guns from him and keep them here at my house. Just hoping that someday he will get a pardon and I will get to sell them back to him. I know for a fact that getting a pardon would make him smile so much that his face would start to hurt. It was an emotional trauma for him and he still feels it. He was proud of his service at DoD and somehow that all got thrown in the trash.
Gregg
