The Stupid - It Hurts

It has become an article of faith among pro-Second Amendment folks that more gun laws do nothing to prevent crime, and in fact mostly put law-abiding citizens in a difficult position while being ignored by criminals.

Well, here's some information that injects facts into that argument.

Unknown to many if not most of us engaged in this debate is that the Supreme Court has ruled that criminals - convicted felons - are currently not required to register their firearms. In fact, it seems that they can lie on Form 4473, the U.S. government form that must be completed whenever an individual purchases a firearm from a registered dealer, without fear of prosecution.

That's because, according to Haynes v. United States, felons and others prohibited from possessing firearms are protected by the 5th Amendment against the self-incrimination that would result from them truthfully completing Form 4473 or otherwise registering their firearms. (H/T to Little Annie's Orphans for the link.)

"Haynes, a convicted felon, was convicted of unlawful possession of an unregistered short-barreled shotgun. He argued that for a convicted felon to register a gun was effectively an announcement to the government that he was breaking the law and that registration violated his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. The court, by an 7-1 margin, agreed..."

I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on television. So please don't take this as gospel. But if there are any lawyers out there I'd be interested in your comments.

In the meantime, isn't it interesting that our political masters are doing their best to ram new gun control laws down our throats, including expanded registration requirements, without bothering to point out that felons are exempt from such laws.

I don' t know if that's due to ignorance, or something more nefarious.

I suspect it's a combination of both...