SCOTUS Blows It Again
The arrest (and conviction for owning a gun) was actually made in 2004, according to the Fox News article you referenced and the NPR story I heard. So that would be 8 years after the law was passed, not exactly ex-post facto.
Posted by djc
02/24/2009 at 11:45 PM
DJ, you have to read it very carefully ...
Ten years later, police summoned to Hayes’s home in response to a domestic violence 911 call found a Winchester rifle belonging to Hayes. They later discovered that he had possessed at least four other rifles following the 1994 case.
He was indicted on federal charges of possessing firearms following conviction of misdemeanor domestic violence, a reference to the 1994 case.
He was not arrested for possessing guns in connection to the second domestic violence offense. Under Lautenberg his conviction for that offense would cause them to be taken away, but that’s all. The 2nd DV offense has no bearing on this case, it was only the event that transpired that allowed the cops to see that he had a gun.
I may have the date wrong about the second arrest but it doesn’t matter. He was arrested then because of a law passed before that made his gun possession illegal based on what he had done way before, even though owning a gun after the way before offense was not illegal at that time. It was only later on that it became illegal. It’s a difficult concept to even write about, since our language and our laws are based on linear time.
You can pass a law today that makes something illegal. But you can’t prosecute me for doing that activity back years ago when it was legal. Laws can only look forward. Laws that look backwards, “after the fact” [ex-post facto] are explicitly not allowed.
So am I getting this right - retroactively they are re-convicting him of domestic violence thus being able to use it to convict him under this stupid law?
There is another case along this line (OK, I think) guy gets a domestic violence conviction, moves on with his life - long gone from the victim. Establishes a relationship with another woman - that goes bad (not domestic violence - just bad) - she calls the cops (not living with him, no domestic violence, just a po’d ex girlfriend) because he has a gun (bought long after the dom vio conviction. He’s in jail too.
They are attempting (and it seems like via piecemealing) to take away our 2nd Amendment Rights
Not to mention the 1st Amendment and of course States Rights (boy oh boy did Jindal really, really po The One (tm) off).
And now the Troops are dissenting - joining a lawsuit to make The One (tm) prove he is Constitutionally eligible to be President.
I guess The One (tm) failed at that promise too - to bring us all together into one big happy kumbya singing love fest.
Chicago Tea Party, Friday February 27th 12 noon to 1PM - Party Like It’s 1773!
