Supreme Court Justice (nominated by Pres. Bush Sr. 1990)
Felons may possess guns unless state explicitly prohibits it
The only limitation that Massachusetts law imposed on petitioner’s possession of firearms was that he could not carry handguns outside his home or business. In my view, state law did not “expressly provide that petitioner may not possess firearms,” and
thus petitioner cannot be sentenced as an armed career criminal.
Petitioner’s prior convictions qualify as violent felonies only if the “restoration of his civil rights” by operation of Massachusetts law “expressly provided that petitioner may not
possess firearms.“ In 1994, [that was not so]. To the contrary: Petitioner was permitted to possess shotguns, rifles, and handguns. Indeed, Massachusetts provided petitioner with a firearm identification card that enabled him to possess such firearms.
The Court rejects this on the basis of ”a likely, and rational, congressional policy“ of prohibiting firearms possession by all ex-felons whose ability to possess certain firearms is in any way restricted by state law. I respectfully dissent.
Source: Caron v. US, 97-6270, joining Thomas’ dissent
Jun 22, 1998
Congress can regulate guns in school under Commerce clause
In U.S. v. Lopez (1995), Breyer authored a stinging dissent, joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
defending Congress’s power to regulate the possession of guns in school zones across the nation as within federal authority over interstate commerce.
Source: (X-ref Breyer) SupremeCourtHistory.org
Jan 1, 1995
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