A recent New York Times article reports on how easy it is for some violent felons to get their gun rights restored. Every year, the article claims, thousands of felons nationwide have their gun rights reinstated with little or no review. “While previously a small number of felons were able to reclaim their gun rights, the process became commonplace in many states in the late 1980s, after Congress started allowing state laws to dictate these reinstatements.” According to one researcher cited in the article, “depending on the type of crime, in more than half of the states, felons have a reasonable chance of getting back their gun rights.” The article cites multiple cases in which ex convicts legally obtained guns and used them to commit crimes.
