A federal appeals court has overturned the gun conviction of a Mississippi man who failed to pay child support, ruling that such an offense does not justify permanently stripping him of his Second Amendment rights.
In a 2–1 decision issued Dec. 17, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that once the man became current on his child support obligations, there was no basis for continuing to bar him from possessing firearms.
“There’s no historical justification to disarm him at that moment—never mind for the rest of his life,” Judge James Ho wrote for the majority opinion. He was joined by Judge Cory Wilson….