Clayton Cramer wrote inpart: "We also know that ex-felons are exempt from mandatory firearms registration because of Haynes v. U.S., unless the registration scheme is appropriately sanitized to prevent this information from being used for pursuit of the ex-felon. Could an equal protection argument perhaps be built on top of Haynes to argue that non-felons deserve the same protection of the law as ex-felons?..."
"1. Ex-felons should get their rights to guns back; or, 2. Non-felons should have at least as much protection from a mandatory registration law as ex-felons. If it's unfair to penalize ex-felons with loss of voting rights, it's at least as unfair to penalize non-felons with potential punishment for failing to register a gun." The above is true, however a casual reader may incorrectly infer that ex-felons cannot be prosecuted for possession of an unregistered firearm. As a result of the Haynes decision, Congress amended the Gun Control Act of 1968 so that only a possessor who lawfully makes, manufactures, or imports firearms must register them. Current federal law does not require either an ex-felon or a non-felon to register an NFA weapon. This has been the case since 1971. See UNITED STATES v. FREED, 401 U.S. 601 (1971), 401 U.S. 601 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=401&invol=601) An excerpt from that case: "To eliminate the defects revealed by Haynes, Congress amended the Act so that only a possessor who lawfully makes, manufactures, or imports firearms can and must register them. The transferor must identify himself, describe the firearm, and give the name and address of the transferee, whose application must be supported by fingerprints and a photograph and a law enforcement official's certificate identifying them as those of the transferee and stating that the weapon is intended for lawful uses. Only after the transferor's receipt of the approved application form may the firearm transfer be legally made. ___A transferee does not and cannot register, though possession of an unregistered firearm is illegal.___" __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com
