About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

70 Duke L.J. 1429 (2020-2021)
Time to Reload: The Harms of the Federal Felon-in-Possession Ban in a Post-Heller World

handle is hein.journals/duklr70 and id is 1426 raw text is: Notes TIME TO RELOAD: THE HARMS OF THE FEDERAL FELON-IN-POSSESSION BAN IN A POST-HELLER WORLD ZACH SHERWOODT ABSTRACT Federal law permanently prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a felony from possessing a firearm. Keeping lethal weapons out of the hands of those who pose a risk to public safety is no doubt a worthy policy goal. But the federal felon-in-possession ban is blunt, punitive, and supremely damaging to the ex-felons who fall within its ambit. The statute's sweeping scope ensures that any ex-felon who possesses any firearm for any length of time for any reason can be swiftly and harshly punished. And it indiscriminately targets conduct that is often neither harmful nor criminal. The felon-in-possession ban gained constitutional significance following the Supreme Court's landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. The Heller Court recognized for the first time an individual Second Amendment right to possess a firearm for self- defense in the home. Yet by imposing substantial criminal liability on any form of firearm possession by an ex-felon, the felon-in-possession ban categorically strips a sizable portion of Americans of this very same right. This Note argues that it is high time to rethink the federal felon-in- possession ban's role in a post-Heller world. It argues that the statute's expansive reach is poorly tailored to addressing gun violence and highlights the weak doctrinal foundation on which the felon-in- possession ban is built. But this Note goes further than most existing scholarship by also examining the tangible, on-the-ground harms that Copyright © 2021 Zach Sherwood. t Duke University School of Law, J.D. expected 2021; Harvard University, A.B. 2013. To Professors Sean Andrussier, Neil Siegel, Ben Grunwald, and Sarah Baker, thank you for your wisdom and mentorship. To my classmates in Professor Rebecca Rich's Scholarly Writing Workshop, thank you for your insightful feedback. To the Duke Law Journal editors, thank you for your much-needed comments, edits, and improvements. And to my parents and husband, words cannot capture how grateful I am for your abiding love and support.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most