Thoughts??? Comments???
I am not sure how widespread this interpretation is. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office is actively involved in a "Firearms Divestiture" program based on the Lautenberg Amendment passed in 1996. The amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968 made a person convicted of a misdemeanor Domestic Violence crime a prohibited person relative to possessing a firearm for life. Agree or disagree, this has been the law since 1996.
The current interpretation is that the prohibition also applies to any conviction based on a Domestic Violence arrest. If someone arrested for Domestic Violence pleads guilty to or is convicted of Simple Battery, that person becomes a prohibited person for life because it is based on a Domestice Violence arrest. This person is not convicted of Domestic Violence but becomes a prohibited person.
To go a step further, for example, someone is arrested for Simple Battery involving an intimate partner in 1985. If that arrest resulted in any conviction or plea deal, the result is now a lifetime ban on possession of a firearm.
The current interpretation has no time limit on the arrest & conviction. If it happened at any time in the past, the individual is a prohibited person.
The " Firearms Divestiture" comes into play when someone that is determined to be a prohibited person due to any conviction based on a Domestic Violence arrest, is found in possession of a firearm. This person is not aware that they are a prohibited person. The LPSO will then assist with the "divestiture" of the firearms on the spot. They will accept the firearms for safe keeping until someone is found to accept the firearms.
It also appears that the ATF agrees with the interpretation and may open an investigation if someone refuses to participate in the "Firearms Divestiture" program.
I do not agree with this interpretation. I am not an attorney. Do not take this as legal advice. I only want to make people aware that this is happening.
This interpretation is new and troubling to me.
Thoughts??? Comments???
If you don't beat your wife/GF, you don't have to worry about it. But then, it is Lafourche parish
1.) That interpretation, if I am understanding it accurately, seems problematic to me. Permanent loss of right should depend on conviction, not arrest. This seems like a due process issue.
If a sanction is specific to a particular offense, that sanction cannot be applied to another crime simple because it "kind of makes sense".
I heard a presentation by a Domestic Violence Specialist with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff''s Office last week. What I posted is my understanding of what is going on in Lafourche Parish. I deleted the post since I was attempting to have a serious discussion about gun control tactics. I am not interested in any attempt to imply that I condone domestic violence.