Court Rules Against Felons in Gun Case
The Associated Press
Tuesday, December 10, 2002; 10:42 AM
The Supreme Court on Tuesday restricted the options of felons who want their gun rights restored.
The justices ruled unanimously that felons must go through a federal agency, even though that agency has been banned by Congress from processing requests.
A former Texas gun dealer tried to get around that by going straight to court. A lower court gave Thomas Lamar Bean his firearms license back, but Tuesday's decision took it away again.
Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the justices, said that Bean could only go to court if his request was denied by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The bureau didn't act on his application.
Thomas said the ATF, not a judge, was best prepared to look into whether an applicant could be a danger to public safety.
Felons are barred from carrying guns after their release from prison, but they can ask the government for an exception.
The justices rejected Bean's argument that the government's inability to act amounted to a denial.
Bean was convicted of violating Mexican law when officers found 200 rounds of bullets in his car during a dinner trip across the border four years ago. He said he'd told his assistants to remove the bullets.
The Bush administration had argued against Bean, despite the Justice Department's stance that the Constitution guarantees a right to gun ownership.
The case is United States v. Bean, 01-704.
[URL]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34681-2002Dec10.html]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34681-2002Dec10.html[/URL]