T G D A  N E W S L E T T E R

Court rules foreign convictions don't count

The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that foreign convictions should not be counted towards previous offenses when considering harsher penalties for arms possession under the federal Gun Control Act. 

In making the ruling, the court determined that the U. S. Congress did not intend to include foreign convictions under the felon-in-possession section of the law, which prohibits a person from possessing a firearm if “convicted in any court” of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison.

The ruling is not likely to have effect in other jurisdictions however.