NCJ Number
149070
Date Published
1992
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This report presents the transcript and written statements of a hearing on Federal S.2304, a bill to amend Title 18 of the U.S. Code to permanently prohibit the possession of firearms by persons who have been convicted of a violent felony and for other purposes.
Abstract
The bill would abolish a procedure by which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms can waive Federal firearm restrictions for individuals otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms. It would also preempt a practice by which States give violent felons the ability to possess guns when their other civil rights are restored after serving a sentence. A panel consisting of Senator Frank Lautenberg from New Jersey and Congressman Lawrence Smith from Florida supports the bill as a means of reducing gun violence by persons at risk for such violence and of saving tax monies that have been used to fund Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms investigations associated with applications for waivers of gun possession restrictions on felons. A panel of representatives from police organizations also supports the bill. A representative from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and a spokesman for the National Rifle Association support the permanent prohibition on gun possession for all persons convicted of a violent felony and drug offenses. They would preserve, however, the right of felons convicted of nonviolent offenses to petition the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms for a waiver of the gun-possession restriction. They further favor the payment of a fee by the applicant to cover the cost of the investigation.