A horrible story out of Florida yesterday:
A convicted felon has allegedly killed his six grandchildren and an adult daughter in a murder suicide in northern Florida – 13 years after he accidentally shot his eight-year-old son dead in a hunting accident.
Don Spirit, 51, is said to have gunned down daughter, Sarah, 28, and her six sons and daughters, before turning the gun on himself in Bell, a town of only 350 people 30 miles west of Gainesville.
The Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office confirmed that among the victims were Kaleb Kuhlmann, 11, Kylie Kuhlmann, nine, Johnathon Kuhlmann, eight, Brandon Stewart, four and Destiny Stewart, five.
[…]
The suspect, Spirit, shot and killed his eight-year-old son Kyle during a hunting accident in 2001.
According to the Orlando-Sentinel, he spent three years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon just as his trial was set to begin, in exchange for the minimum sentence.
Spirit, having been convicted in 1998 for felony possession of marijuana, did not have rights to own a firearm. He was released in 2006.
A convicted felon, as The Daily Mail correctly notes, is not legally permitted to own or possess a firearm. If you are a felon or convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, you have chosen to void your Second Amendment natural rights. What the law states:
A “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” means an offense that:
is a misdemeanor under Federal or State law;
has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon; and
was committed by a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim.However, a person is not considered to have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence unless:
the person was represented by counsel in the case, or knowingly and intelligently waived the right of counsel in the case; and
in the case of a prosecution for which a person was entitled to a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which the case was tried, either —the case was tried by a jury, or
the person knowingly and intelligently waived the right to have the case tried by a jury, by guilty plea or otherwise.In addition, a conviction would not be disabling if it has been expunged or set aside, or is an offense for which the person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored (if the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held provides for the loss of civil rights upon conviction for such an offense) unless the pardon, expunction, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms, and the person is not otherwise prohibited by the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held from receiving or possessing firearms.
[18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33), 27 CFR 478.11]
[…]
No. If a person was convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence at any time, he or she may not lawfully possess firearms or ammunition on or after September 30, 1996.
[18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9), 27 CFR 478.32(a)(9)]
Furthermore, if you've been punished with imprisonment exceeding one year you are prohibited from possessing a firearm [18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)]. Felons are legally barred from owning or buying guns. Those intent on murder don't pay attention to such laws.
Anti-gun groups have been quick to make the arguement that because this felon murdered his family with an illegally possessed, illegally used firearm that law-abiding Americans who've done nothing to compromise their rights must be deprived of them.
