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North Carolina Supreme Court finds state constitutional right for some felons to bear arms

By Douglas A. Berman

Thanks to this post at The Volokh Conspiracy, which is titled "Felons and the Right To Bear Arms," I discovered that late yesterday the North Carolina Supreme Court ruling in Britt v. State, No. 488A07 (NC Aug. 28, 2009) (available here), that at least North Carolina felons have a state constitutional right to bear arms under the North Carolina Constitution.  Here are a few key passages from the notable (and very important?) ruling: Article I, Section 30 of the North Carolina Constitution provides, in pertinent part: ?A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.?  This Court has held that regulation of the right to bear arms is a proper exercise of the General Assembly?s police power, but that any regulation must be at least ?reasonable and not prohibitive, and must bear a fair relation to the preservation of the public peace and safety...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 29, 2009 (boomark / email).