As things currently stand, anyone convicted of a felony is prohibited from owning a firearm. It doesn’t matter what the felony is, either. It could be murder or bouncing a check, the overall treatment with regard to gun rights is the same. Poof.

Now, I have no issue with punishing people for breaking the law, even if we have way too many laws on the books, but rights are rights. Should we strip the right to keep and bear arms from everyone just because of what the potential penalty of their crime was? After all, it’s a felony if you can get a year in prison over it, but is the threat from “dangerous individuals” the same between a convicted hitman and someone convicted of tax evasion?

One is a brutal crime and the other is something I think should be considered a moral duty considering where our tax dollars keep being funneled.

In Texas, though, Gun Owners of America is backing a measure that would restore gun rights to non-violent felons.

Overview:

HB 2759 by Rep. Virdell amends Section 46.04 of the Texas Penal Code to refine firearm possession restrictions by ensuring that only individuals convicted of violent felonies or serious public safety offenses remain prohibited from firearm possession. The Bill maintains current Texas Law on violent and dangerous felons.

Key Points:

…

2. Restores Firearm Rights for Non-Violent Felons

• Many Texans with non-violent felony convictions have served their time and successfully re-entered society but remain permanently banned from possessing firearms. HB 2759 allows non-violent felons to regain firearm rights following release from confinement or supervision.
• Why It Matters: This ensures that law-abiding, rehabilitated individuals can exercise their right to self-defense while maintaining restrictions in public space for violent felons.

There are few people who want to see gun rights restored to violent felons in a carte blanche manner. It’s one thing restoring it to those who have been reformed, but just everyone? That’s not particularly common, and even most of those who do won’t choose this as the hill to die on.

But non-violent felons aren’t the same and never have been. They’re not a threat to anyone, but once they complete their sentence, they’re just as vulnerable to predators as the rest of us. They have a right to protect themselves, which means guns.

As things stand, though, they can’t. 

Never mind that they might have been involved in a computer crime, but can still own a computer. That doesn’t matter to the law. What matters is that they can’t have a gun, because white collar criminals are well known for leaving prison and knocking over the neighborhood liquor store.

Should this bill in Texas pass, that’s a significant step forward for gun rights. It should happen in all 50 states, if not just get passed at the federal level so anti-gun states just have to swallow it.

Either way, these folks aren’t dangerous, and that’s what the standard should be.

Now, I’d like to say this is a sure thing in Texas, but it’s not. This is going to be spun as putting guns in the hands of felons and too few people will be aware of the nuance at all. They’ll see the headlines and react.

That makes this one a tough sell for some lawmakers.

Here’s hoping there are enough who will listen.