Recently, we have seen interesting gun ownership cases pop-up all over the place. One that contrasts private ownership and prison sentences appeared in Florida, where a convicted felon, Tony Henderson, a former Border Patrol member guilty of marijuana distribution, wants to sell the 19 guns he voluntarily surrendered after being arrested.
Now, under federal law, convicted felons are not allowed to possess guns. The problem here is that the Henderson voluntarily gave the FBI his collection and would like to sell them to a friend or transferred them to his wife.
Justices of the Supreme Court seemed slightly unsure about the case itself and how to rule for the transfer to be able to happen at all. Not forgetting that the possibility of guns falling into wrong hands, one of the options at the court’s disposal is to allow Henderson to sell the guns via federally registered gun dealer.
Some justices, like Antonin Scalia are worried that this is “drawing a very artificial line” regarding being able to sell guns through someone rather than transferring ownership. Other justices, like Elena Kagan suggest that the focus should move from the manner of sale to the person who will obtain the gun, as it should be made certain that the original owner cannot influence the new one in any way.
So far, the federal judge refused Henderson’s request regarding the sale of the firearms, with 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals following suit past January. The ruling of the Supreme Court is expected by the end of June.
Image courtesy of: http://colbycriminaljustice.wdfiles.com/
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