Legal theory question regarding federal gun laws

[Coach]

Well at least ex post facto has been explained. And .38 special is apparently more than a caliber/ cartridge. There has to be some way to blame Lincoln for all this.

 

[HoughMade]

....There has to be some way to blame Lincoln for all this.

Dude....c'mon. One thread. Can we have one lousy thread without this?

 

[Vigilant]

So, back to Ex-Post Facto, how did the Lautenberg Amendment about domestic violence and barring firearms possession not? 30 year old DV cases immediately barred a person from firearms possession?

 

[david890]

One of the more under-appreciated aspects of the U.S. Constitution is it's forbidding of ex post facto laws where laws are passed making previously legal behavior illegal.

Um. NO. If that were true, then you would still be able to own slaves and Prohibition would never have been enacted.

Times change, people change, beliefs change. After enough years, people realized that Prohibition produced far more problems than solutions and so repealed the Amendment. We're in the process of legalizing marijuana, and not a moment too soon! Since Nixon declared the "War on Drugs", we've spent something like $600B, prison populations have exploded, and this "war" has helped create narco-terrorist states throughout Central and South America. Other countries, most notably Portugal (where all drugs have been decriminalized), have used their money for treatment, not punishment.

People are gonna use, they're gonna drink. Is our money better spent helping those trying to help people break those habits, or by warehousing addicts? Prisoners get no treatment, so it's not surprising they use once they get out.

 

[cook5oh]

So, back to Ex-Post Facto, how did the Lautenberg Amendment about domestic violence and barring firearms possession not? 30 year old DV cases immediately barred a person from firearms possession?

For the purposes of Ex-Post Facto, again you arent being prosecuted for owning the weapon "prior" to the lautenburg amendment. Only if you still possess the weapon after it came into effect.