Author pulls bill allowing nonviolent felons to own firearms
BY MICHAEL MCNUTT NewsOK.com
Thursday, February 14, 2013
2/14/13 at 5:20 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY - Rep. Todd Russ says he filed a measure so someone who made a mistake early in life and committed a nonviolent crime could have the chance to have a gun - to take a child hunting or to keep a rifle or shotgun handed down by an ancestor.
He wasn't prepared Wednesday when he was told by another lawmaker that nonviolent offenses by definition include bombing, possessing child pornography, child prostitution, all drug offenses, which includes trafficking and distributing, and drive-by shootings.
State laws don't identify nonviolent crimes but instead state that nonviolent crimes are those that are not identified as violent crimes.
"I was horrified when I saw that in our statutes, these ... things are nonviolent offenses," said Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang, who brought up the definition during a committee meeting Wednesday.
Original Print Headline: Bill allowing 'nonviolent' felons to own firearms draws a rewrite
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