Would you give a convicted murderer back their gun ownership rights? The common sense answer is “absolutely not,” but The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles might.
According to Georgia state law, anyone who has been convicted of a crime that is punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding one year cannot own a gun. However, criminals in the state of Georgia have the option to apply to have their rights to own a firearm reinstated.
To be considered for reinstatement in Georgia, a convicted criminal must be done with their sentence and probation for five years and cannot have been convicted of any additional crimes. This person also must have three references, unrelated to him or her, state that they are rehabilitated and feel comfortable with this person owning a gun.
According to the Washington Times, 1,400 Georgia felons have had their gun rights reinstated between 2008 and 2013. This is the highest rate in the country and it is not going unnoticed.
Of these 1,400 criminals, 358 of them were convicted of violent crimes, 166 were convicted of drug related crimes, and 32 are convicted murders.
It is downright ridiculous that the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles is giving convicted murders their gun rights back.
People can change. We all know that. As true as this is, it is unjust for people who have previously killed someone or committed another violent crime to be allowed to have a gun on their person, because who’s to say they won’t do it again? This is endangering the lives of the law-abiding citizens around the convicted murder.
There need to be more regulations put into place before felons have the option of owning a gun. A good place to start would be making the felon be 10 to 15 years off of probation versus five. This would give the person in question more time to recuperate their life before they are given this privilege back.
Another step to be added to this process should be the requirement of intensive psychiatric evaluation of the felon. Receiving a letter from someone who knows the felon stating that they are fine now is not enough to prove that any changes have been made.
Even if stricter regulations were to be required by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, it would still be outlandish for a convicted murder to have their gun ownership rights reinstated.