Lateefah Simon: “I say to Senator Lautenberg, I would like to raise an issue of great importance. The current version of this…”

“I say to Senator Lautenberg, I would like to raise an issue of great importance. The current version of this appropriations bill would not fund the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' [ATF] disability relief program. Under current Federal law, someone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by more than 1 year is ineligible, or disabled, from possessing a firearm--a sensible idea. However, Congress created a loophole in 1965 whereby convicted felons could apply to ATF to have their firearm privileges restored, at an estimated taxpayer cost of $10,000 per waiver granted. We have fought to end this program and have succeeded in stripping the program's funding in annual appropriations bills since 1992. This year, we face an additional challenge in our efforts to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons. A recent court case in Pennsylvania has misinterpreted our intentions and opened the door for these convicted felons to apply for judicial review of their disability relief applications. In this case, Rice versus United States, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals found that the current funding prohibition does not make clear congressional intent to bar all avenues of relief for convicted felons.”