Three-Judge Panel of 3rd Circuit Says Non-Violent Felons May Lose Gun Rights

A three-judge panel United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Wednesday that non-violent felons may lose gun rights, as they have “demonstrated disregard for the rule of law.”

The case centers on Bryan Range, who lost his Second Amendment rights following a welfare fraud conviction. He filed a lawsuit in 2020 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to have his rights restored, but the District Court decided against him.

His appeal to the Third Circuit was in hopes of garnering a more favorable judgement because of the Supreme Court of the United States’ June 23, 2022, decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen.

Range argued that the loss of his gun rights was “inconsistent with the text and history of the Second Amendment and is therefore unconstitutional under [Bruen].”

The three judges–Patty Schwartz, Cheryl Ann Krause, and Jane Roth–disagreed with Range.

Their opinion:

Based on history and tradition, we conclude that “the people” constitutionally entitled to bear arms are the “law-abiding, responsible citizens” of the polity, a category that properly excludes those who have demonstrated disregard for the rule of law through the commission of felony and felony-equivalent offenses, whether or not those crimes are violent. Additionally, we conclude that even if Range falls within “the people,” the Government has met its burden to demonstrate that its prohibition is consistent with historical tradition.

They added:

Accordingly, because Range’s felony-equivalent conviction places him outside the class of people traditionally entitled to Second Amendment rights, and because the Government has shown the at-issue prohibition is consistent with historical tradition, we will affirm the District Court’s summary judgment in favor of the Government.

The case is Range v. Attorney General, No 21-2835, in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.