Van der hule v. Holder, No. 09-36008 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff appealed the district court's holding that he was prohibited by federal law from possessing or receiving a firearm by virtue of his restriction on obtaining a Montana concealed weapon permit and that plaintiff, because of his prior felony conviction, had no federal constitutional right to possess a firearm. The court held that Montana's prohibition on plaintiff's obtaining a permit to carry a concealed weapon is a sufficient restriction of his firearm rights to trigger the "unless clause" of 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(20). Accordingly, plaintiff is forbidden to receive or possess a firearm under federal law and that ban does not violate his Second Amendment rights. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Second Amendment / Firearms. The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment in favor of the Attorney General of the United States in an action for declaratory relief brought by Frank Van der hule, a former felon whose civil rights were automatically restored under Montana law, seeking approval of a proposed firearm purchase. The panel held that Montana’s prohibition on Van der hule’s obtaining a permit to carry a concealed weapon was a sufficient restriction of his firearm rights to trigger the “unless clause” of 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20). The panel also held that Van der hule was forbidden to receive or possess a firearm under federal law, and that ban did not violate his Second Amendment rights.
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