We've all known (or at least the vast majority of us) that it's illegal for a convicted felon to own, poses, or have a gun in the house. Even a non-felon can not have a gun, or ammo, in the same house with a convicted felon.

Sooo... This week, I got a slight education. (No, I have a squeaky clean record.) The son-in-law was convicted of a felony some 28 years ago, served his time in prison, and has had a very clean record ever since. But, my daughter has had a small .22 in the house. This past week, someone called the police and informed them there was a gun in the house. The gun has been confiscated, and they're trying to decide if they're going to take it into court or not. Because of his record since he was in prison, they may not. However.......

In talking with the cops, I find out the definition of a GUN. Let's say, "FIREARM", because if it does not "BURN" a substance as a propellant, it is not considered a firearm. And, if it does not burn a substance for a propellant, it is LEGAL for a felon to use, keep in the house, and own. So, it is legal for a convicted felon to own a BB gun, pellet gun, "Gauss Rifle", "BEAM ENERGY WEAPON" (No, do not laugh at this one).... And, the list goes on.

Ok, a BB gun. No big deal. Well, BB guns do not have an orange end on the barrel because they actually CAN be lethal. Back when I was a kid, parents bought the old "Daisy Rider" BB guns as toys for the kids. We used to play "Cowboys and Indians", and the kids with a BB gun were looked up to. I don't know how many times I got shot in the back, chest, legs, etc. It hurt like hell, but that was about it. Then, we started finding out that other kids that were doing pretty much the same thing happened to have a kid get hit in the eye. The BB went through the eye into the brain, and the kid was killed. Call it a freak accident or what ever you will, a BB gun could be lethal back in those days. Today, technology has improved the velocity considerable. I believe the old Daisy Rider had a muzzle velocity of about 250 feet per second. (Yes, I could be wrong on this) But, today, with "multi-pump" and CO2 technology, the muzzle velocity gets up to and over 1000 feet per second. You don't have to hit a kid in the eye anymore. Completely legal for a convicted felon to own.

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching a program on NGC about Alaska State Troopers. They were investigating a moose carcass. It turned out that it had been shot AND KILLED with a PELLET GUN. I really don't think we need to say anymore about that. Completely legal for a convicted felon to own.

But, over the last two decades, another technology has emerged. The "GAUSS RIFLE". A "spin-off" of RAIL-GUN technology, it uses magnetic fields to propel a projectile. The small, hand-held ones today have about the same muzzle velocity as the old Daily Rider, but with a projectile that weighs 10 to 30 times more. The potential? The U S Navy has been doing research on this and by the year 2020, they expect to have Navy ships fitted with Gauss Rifles that will be capable of launching a projectile at a target that is 240 MILES DOWNRANGE. And, when it hits the target, it is expected to have enough velocity for a solid projectile to equal the damage of a cruise missile. Something like getting hit with a meteorite. And, the technology does exist today to give a BB (the BB gun variety) enough speed to penetrate up to 4 thicknesses of Kevlar Bullet-proof vests. Completely legal for a convicted felon to own.

And, while a "beam energy weapon" might seem like Star Trek to a lot of you, the fact is that it only takes about half an hour to turn your kitchen microwave into a beam energy weapon. The technology is generally considered DOS (Denial of Access), but there are situations where it can be just as lethal as anything else. It also works on multiple targets at the same time. Completely legal for a convicted felon to own.

And, of all things, it is also illegal for a convicted felon to have a "POTATO GUN". It burns a substance as a propellant.

The way that technology is going, why bother keeping firearms away from them?

I KNOW some of the miscreants on here are gonna have some fun with that jewel of information.

Windy, I hope they drop the case. You won't get the confiscated .22 back most likely though. That was pretty punk of whomever the RP was.
These laws seem to become more of a cluster *, the more government grows, and the political agenda is obvious.

There should be a time limit on some of these felonies, if a person goes 20-30 years towing the line. It's basically a life sentence the way it is.

The .22 is back with it's owner now. Because it did not belong to the son-in-law, the police can not keep it. The owner does have the option to reclaim it.

Her husband had pointed it at her a few times, and she was afraid he might load it. Either that, or he might pawn it and sniff the profits up his nose. When she asked my stepdaughter to keep it for her, no one thought about the son-in-law's record. The good news is that the State's Attorney, because of the record (or lack of it) over the last 28 years, decided not to take it into court. It remains as a "written warning", and that's as far as it goes. He also does not want a repeat of this at any time in the future.

I just thought it was interesting that a convicted felon can not own something like a .22 or a .32 special, but today things like pellet guns have just as much "kill power", and they are completely legal for a felon to own. If a pellet gun can drop a moose in Alaska, it's a "contender". I don't want to get shot with it.

What state are you referring to? It is my understanding that New York now classifies pellet guns, etc. as firearms as of last year because of the change in technology referenced here.

FL

I got some information from the cops at the scene, then paid a visit to the State"s Attorney (District Attorney to the rest of the country). Here in FL, if it does not BURN A PROPELLANT, it"s legal.