Rigby5
Diamond Member
That may be, but the states decide......every state has felonies and misdemeanors.....the felonies are considered bad enough to revoke certain rights.....I don't know how else to do it...So what about the Bernie Madoffs of the world? He wasn't violent? I think felony is why you cant get those.....it's made into the designation....if you get a misdemeanor you don't lose your rights, so when you get a felony, it's egregious enough to remove those rights.1. Nope. Kind of soured on gun rights right now, but other folks are for restoring gun rights, they can deal with it.
2. Not sure....probably not. Voting is an integral right in the democratic process, running for office is not.
A bit strange than that if you're NOT HOT on restoring felon rights for GUN Ownership or running for office -- that you're spending THIS MUCH time defending their right to vote? Do ya get the irony there or not?
In reality -- I'm in favor of a path to restore EVERYTHING to felons over a long process.. But WITHOUT being used as political pawns or political wedge issues.. YEP -- vote, guns, child custody, becoming a mayor or even Governor..
I don't think voting rights are much of a disincentive. People don't think, before robbing a bank...what if I get caught and lose my right to vote?
There is no need to tighten anything to compensate. Many states already restore voting rights. Originally - only those who had committed truly horrific crimes had there voting rights permanently removed (and I'm fine with that) - but many felonies do not fall in that category.
Again -- USUALLY those who favor restoring felon rights like I do -- are MORE CONCERNED about the all SUBSTANTIALLY more serious lost rights than voting.. But voting gets you RAZZED UP - for some reason -- dont it????
There is no irony.
VOTING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RIGHT IN A REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY.
What part of that do you NOT GET?
It is also a right that has been infringed on too easily historically, to prevent certain groups from voting.
Removing voting rights from felons today, is based on a legacy of racist laws inacted after emancipation to prevent black people from voting. Prior to that, it was only done for tbe most egregious crimes. why is it so important that felons be denied the right to vote once they have completed their sentence? Why exactly should it be a “long process”. In fact seems to me denying them this right is itself a political wedge issue. Florida passed by ballot initiative, a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to felons. Republicans have been doing everything they can to overturn it. Now that is political.
I am all for returning all their rights...with some exceptions. Some one who committed a crime of violence should never have a gun and someone who committed a crime that violated their professional licensure and caused harm should not have it restored. But in a country, where much of the world lacks the abiliyt to vote, voting is an important right.
But the problem is - not all felonies are equal in terms of egregiousness - they vary from state to state.
And that state discretion is exactly why it should be illegal to revoke voting rights.
The states then can easily only revoke voting rights of groups it does not like, such as Blacks.