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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 12, 2018 10:24 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Seth M. Grove and Rep. Tim Briggs |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Crimes Code Update |
| We will be introducing legislation, supported by the District Attorneys Association, designed to close a significant loophole that allows some convicted felons to illegally carry firearms with impunity. Under current law, someone who has been convicted of a serious crime is statutorily barred from possessing a firearm. But someone who is convicted of attempting, conspiring or soliciting another to commit those very same crimes is not subject to any penalty under state law. As a result, someone who is convicted of murder, rape, or burglary can be prosecuted for carrying a firearm, but someone convicted of attempted rape, conspiracy to commit murder, or solicitation to commit robbery cannot. That makes no sense. It is worth noting that an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any of these offenses carries the same penalty as committing the crime itself, and the General Assembly in the past has recognized the significant of these crimes when it included penalties for selling firearms to individuals whom the seller knows will use the firearm to commit or attempt to commit a crime. As shocking as this problem is, our legislative fix is straightforward and simple, and will not affect any rights of any law-abiding individual to possess a firearm. Our bill proposes simply to add attempt, conspiracy to commit and solicitation to commit to the very same list of serious crimes that already prohibit a person from possessing a firearm under state law. By doing so, our bill will only subject to criminal penalty those who have a conviction for a serious crime and who subsequently chooses to illegally carry a firearm. Closing this loophole is reasonable, straightforward, and necessary to hold those who illegally carry a firearm because of a prior conviction accountable. Please join us in this simple yet critical fix to our law. |
Introduced as HB2275