Convicted Non-Violent Felons Can Own Guns, Ninth Circuit Rules

In a decision that could have a major impact on the exercise of Second Amendment rights, a split Ninth Circuit panel has ruled that convicted felons can own guns, at least when it comes to non-violent offenders who have re-entered society. The case involves the conviction of Steven Duarte, a California man who was arrested in 2020 after he tossed a handgun out of a moving car during a traffic stop. A federal grand jury indicted him for possessing a firearm while knowing that he had been previously convicted of “a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” in violation of the federal “felon-in-possession” law....