TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Paul Burch on Jun 6, 2023

The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled 11-4 on Tuesday that the government cannot ban people convicted of non-violent crimes from possessing guns, reported Reuters. The decision stems from a 2020 lawsuit by Pennsylvania man, Bryan Range, who was barred under federal law from possessing a gun after pleading guilty to welfare fraud. He claimed the prohibition violated his right to bear arms under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Range pleaded guilty in 1995 to committing welfare fraud in Pennsylvania in order to obtain $2,458 of food stamps, a misdemeanor punishable by up to five years' imprisonment. He was sentenced to three years of probation.