Did you know that much of the pumpkin you eat is not pumpkin at all, but is really squash?
My family thinks I’m making this up, but it’s true. You can see the FDA’s take on labeling cans of squash as “pumpkin” right here: https://lnkd.in/gDPWb4Du. As far as the government is concerned, go ahead and call squash “pumpkin” if you want to.
(Given all the recent debate about the First Amendment, it’s worth remembering that “commercial speech“ receives less protection, especially if it misleads. https://lnkd.in/guXBVGWK)
In the same way, we often use “felon” as shorthand for a certain category of people legally prohibited from possessing firearms. But “felon” is not really what the law says.
Technically, federal law prohibits “any person who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” from possessing firearms.
(And that seemingly errant comma is not my typo. It’s vestigial punctuation from how the law was written in 1968; Congress subsequently removed some language but forgot to strike the comma.)
Simple enough, right? If the crime had a potential sentence of at least a year and a day (regardless of the sentence actually received): prohibited.
But wait! There’s more.
It does not include someone convicted of a crime punishable by TWO years or less, IF the state classifies the offense as a misdemeanor. (I’m the product of a West Virginia public education, but even I know that two years is a term exceeding one year.)
Oh, it also does not include crimes involving “antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, restraints of trade, or other similar offenses relating to the regulation of business practices,” (like mislabeling pumpkin) regardless of the potential or actual sentence. Some white collar crimes still count, though. Tax evasion, for instance. Everyone hates a tax cheat.
This issue came up in a case out of the 11th Circuit last week. A “felon” was caught with a gun, but the circumstances of his prior offense precluded any actual prison sentence. So he was not convicted “of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.” (Stupid extra comma.)
Although Alabama law classified the offense as a “Class D felony,” it also incorporated mandatory sentencing rules that prevented the court from imposing any term of incarceration. So felon, yes. Prohibited, no.
I considered invoking Shakespeare for this post (“A felon by any other name…”) but in light of fall’s imminent arrival, pumpkin seemed better.
I hope it makes you think of me the next time you order a “Squash Spice Latte.”
You can read the opinion here: https://lnkd.in/gEhM3ikV.