From Behind Bars, Former Congressman Duke Cunningham Fights For Gun Rights

Posted by | May 25, 2012 21:23 | Filed under: Top Stories


When Randy “Duke” Cunningham gets out of prison, he wants his guns and wrote a letter to the judge asking for consideration.

“I asking you (sic) to help restore my second amendment rights so I can earn a little money so I can eat,” Cunningham, who said he was a lifetime member of the NRA, wrote. “Pls (sic) help me your honor. I don’t have much left but this little thing is a big thing for me.”

In his response, U.S. District Judge Larry Alan Burns told Cunningham he had “no authority” to restore his gun rights. He told him his only route, thanks to a federal statute that strips felons of their gun rights, would be to ask the Secretary of the Treasury to grant relief. But, he noted, there’s a bit of a catch with the approval process, which the ATF would need to conduct.

And here’s the catch:

“You should be aware, however, that every year since 1992, Congress has refused to provide funding to the ATF to review applications from the federal firearm ban. And the United States Supreme Court has fuled that inaction by ATF does not amount to a ‘denial’ of the application within the meaning of section 925(c),” Burns wrote. “So unless Congress changes course and decides to fund ATF’s review of applications for relief, it appears you are stuck.”

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Copyright 2012 Liberaland
By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.

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