Lawyers Aiding The Redemptive Function of Firearm Rights Restoration To Rehabilitated Felons

I thought this was an interesting article by a Lawyer that as a part of his practice aids past felons in having their  firearm rights restored. Very well worth a read. See The Quiet Army: Rehabilitated Felons and Firearm Rights Restoration


So what do people think about my advocacy on behalf of felons who want their firearm rights back?  At first blush, it’s not the prototypical civil liberties cause, but people on the left tend to support it because it shows compassion for marginalized populations, while people on the right tend to support it because they endorse permissive firearm rights policies.  The fact that these cases do not fit neatly inside any ideological box makes them all the more appealing to me, but at the end of the day I think they transcend ideology because most any reasonable person would recognize that the request to restore the firearm rights of an individual who committed a nonviolent crime decades earlier is reasonable.  Although not everyone shares my enthusiasm for promoting this cause, I think critics would change their tune if they spent some time around these people. 

later

This week I handled my last firearm rights restoration hearing for the foreseeable future.  At the end of the hearing, I handed my client the Order.  He was physically shaking.  A sea of emotions had overcome him.  When you see a gruff, 60-year-old shaking and on the verge of tears with appreciation for what you have done for him, it is a powerful sight.  Like many of us, I went to law school to help people.  Firearm rights restoration cases provide opportunities for attorneys to make a real difference in the lives of felons who – although by their own doing – have suffered terribly and caused immeasurable suffering to those who care for them.  These cases provided me with a glimpse down paths that most of us will never be forced to travel (thankfully), but if we were to end up in that dark place, we would hope that someone would be there for us when we returned to society so that we would not have to finish the journey alone.  I believe very sincerely that my service in these cases has helped to alleviate some of that residual pain for these individuals and their families.

Good piece. Read it all