Knowingly possessing a gun illegally isn't a felony
A federal criminal law prohibits the knowing possession of a gun by a felon. This law has given rise to a debate about how best to read its limitation to "knowing" violations: Does it apply whenever a felon knowingly possesses a gun, or must violators
also know that they have been convicted of a felony? This matters, because lots of minor crimes might technically be felonies, and lots of dispositions that seem inconsequential (because they involve no jail time) might technically be felony convictions.
And the penalties for violating this law can be very high. In United States v. Games-Perez, in 2012, Gorsuch urged the 10th Circuit to review its rule holding that it is enough to support a conviction that the defendant knew he possessed the gun,
whether or not he knew he was a felon. The opinion is an example of Gorsuch's strong commitment to textualism, and a severe critique of using legislative history--particularly to make criminal what might otherwise be innocent.
