Few Felons Should Have Guns - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

Few Felons Should Have Guns - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

"Laws that strip felons of their right to vote after they have served their sentences are bad public policy. I see no public interest in denying individuals their voting rights. Such policies can encourage discriminatory criminal justice policies and worsen the mistrust many minority communities feel toward law enforcement.

In contrast, there is a clear public interest in restricting the ability of felons to possess firearms. Michael Luo’s investigative report in The Times clearly demonstrates the harmful effects of allowing felons to have guns. As Luo reports, research has shown that denying handgun purchases to people convicted of serious misdemeanors reduces the risk of committing new violent crimes by 20 to 30 percent. Restoring felons’ right to legally possess firearms comes at a cost: more gun violence and innocent lives lost.

Although there is a division of opinion in the U.S. about guns generally, polls show overwhelming support for policies designed to keep guns from people with a history of criminality. And public opinion is consistent with the data on ex-convicts and crime. Individuals convicted of crimes, even nonviolent misdemeanors, are on average many times more likely than law-abiding citizens to subsequently commit acts of violence."