February 12, 2010
APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS BAN THAT PROHIBITS FELONS FROM POSSESSING FIREARMS
Right to Bear Arms Does Not Extend to Convicted Felons
SACRAMENTO, Calif.–The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco issued an opinion on Monday upholding the federal ban on convicted felons possessing firearms as consistent with the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The three-judge panel unanimously affirmed the defendant’s conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The defendant in the case, Peter Vongxay, had three prior felony convictions – two for car burglary and one for drug possession. He had been charged in the Eastern District of California, Fresno Division, with the crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1). The charge was based on Vongxay being found one night by members of the Fresno Police Department with a loaded semiautomatic handgun outside a Fresno nightclub frequented by gang members. Vongxay was convicted at trial and was sentenced to five years in prison. He is currently in the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth.
In his appeal, United States v. Peter Vongxay, C.A. 09-10072, the defendant argued that under the Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, the federal statute prohibiting felons from possessing firearms, Section 922(g)(1), was unconstitutional. In its opinion in Heller, the Supreme Court ruled that a D.C. ordinance prohibiting the registration of handguns was an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
In its decision yesterday, the Court of Appeals concluded that the right to bear arms did not extend to convicted felons. The Ninth Circuit panel noted that the Supreme Court in Heller explained that the right to bear arms is limited and that nothing in its opinion in that case “should be taken to cast doubt on the longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons.” The panel further stated that “felons are categorically different from the individuals who have a fundamental right to bear arms,” and it upheld the constitutionality of the statute. Additionally, the Court of Appeals rejected Vongxay’s claims that the statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and that he did not give the police consent to search his person before the police found the weapon tucked in his waistband.
“We welcome the clear and well-reasoned ruling from the Court of Appeals,” commented
U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. “Prosecuting convicted felons who choose to possess and use firearms in our district is critical to our ability to ensure the safety of the community. While the Supreme Court has recognized a limited right under the Second Amendment for law-abiding citizens to possess guns for lawful purposes in defending themselves at home, in no way does that right extend to protect convicted felons who possess or carry guns. We will continue to prosecute vigorously those who do so in violation of federal law.”
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