Convicted felons civil right to vote after incarceration restoration.

[wkmac]

I personally believe that if they paid their debt to society they should be restored their right to vote. Voting from within prison is nonsense though. I also believe all non violent felons should have their 2nd amendment rights restored upon release. Lawmakers are constantly lowering the bar for a felony and there are plenty of non violent convicted felons out there who should have the right to own a gun.

First off, good post.

As to the bold text above, seems to me this goes into the discussion of what is the definition of a "crime" and how does a crime where a victim whose life, liberty or property was violated differ from a crime that is only a violation of legal statute with no physical victim as defined in the first sense? In this second sense the State is the victim as one (the criminal) has violated its decrees, thus challenged its authority.

If one is consistent that guns should be withheld from the hands of criminals in the 2nd sense, one would have to stand squarely against the treasonous and traitorous actions of the men and women who helped to found this country in the first place as clearly their actions were criminal.

Here's a thought, if one kills with a knife and is convicted of a lesser crime, say manslaughter and receives parole or prison release, why are knives not prohibited from this person if the action is to prevent future crime by removing the means and the temptation?

As a closing point, in the sense of the State and its "lawmakers", if crime is defined in the first sense, all so-called "lawmakers" are by definition, criminals!

 

[brett636]

First off, good post.

As to the bold text above, seems to me this goes into the discussion of what is the definition of a "crime" and how does a crime where a victim whose life, liberty or property was violated differ from a crime that is only a violation of legal statute with no physical victim as defined in the first sense? In this second sense the State is the victim as one (the criminal) has violated its decrees, thus challenged its authority.

If one is consistent that guns should be withheld from the hands of criminals in the 2nd sense, one would have to stand squarely against the treasonous and traitorous actions of the men and women who helped to found this country in the first place as clearly their actions were criminal.

Here's a thought, if one kills with a knife and is convicted of a lesser crime, say manslaughter and receives parole or prison release, why are knives not prohibited from this person if the action is to prevent future crime by removing the means and the temptation?

As a closing point, in the sense of the State and its "lawmakers", if crime is defined in the first sense, all so-called "lawmakers" are by definition, criminals!

Thanks for noticing. The punishment for someone convicted a felony, nonviolent of otherwise, extends well beyond the jail cell. Someone fresh out of jail is going to find it very difficult to find a job if they are honest about their criminal history, and risk losing the jobs they do get by not disclosing their criminal history and hoping their prospective employers don't look it up. Even if they can get a job, getting a place to live such as an apartment can be difficult because a lot of apartments and landlords do criminal background checks. So the worst places we drive past in our daily lives and think to ourselves "Glad I don't live on this side of town" can become the only choice for someone with a felony record.

Going back to your question on who or what constitutes a victim of a crime highlights exactly my original point. So many people in this thread want to dump on convicted felons believing what they have been told is that a convicted felon is one of societies lowest forms of life and deserves what they get. What they don't realize is that there is a good chance they may be guilty of a felony themselves and don't even realize it. This website shows just how easy it is to commit a felony act and not even know it has happened. There are just too many vague means of making someone out to be a felon even when there is really not a definable victim. This, among other reasons, is why as a society we need to make sure the punishment for a felony conviction, in most non violent cases, should end when they take their first steps as a free person.

 

[superballs63]

I ran a stop sign once, am I a felon?

 

[rod]

I guess my next question would be even if you were a felon would anyone catch it if you lied when you registered to vote? I don't re-call ever being asked that question when voting.