We just don't know it yet. Case in point, Florida state law makes anyone who has ever shot at an indoor range in FL a felon.
No worries Robb, I'm sure there's an exemption buried somewhere in the state statutes for those not wearing pants!
I'm sure a good portion of the folks on my blogroll have committed a felony at some point in their lives without even realizing it, and we're talking about folks who are far more law-abiding than the general population.
Lawmakers are stupid, and their full-time job is to make law. As a result we the citizenry are entangled in a mess of moronic, unintelligible laws that no person could possibly know or understand.
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In this example, the statute is being misread. It specifically says "wantonly or maliciously."
Yes, but that doesn't stop you from being charged under said statute and having to incur the legal costs and all that goes along with it.
Your statement was that everyone who shoots at an indoor range is a felon, and that is incorrect. The fact that you can be arrested for a crime that you did not, in fact, commit is moving the goalposts.
I had a class years ago where the Prof told us that there are over some 4 Million Laws, Rules, Regs, Ordinances, etc, on the Books in the United States, if one counts every Level of Gooberment, from your Local Zoning Board all the way up to the U.S. Constitution. He then said, when you first wake up, be careful, because we probably broke 20 or so the second we opened our eyes. His point was, that one can pass all the Laws they want, but unless they are enforced Fairly and Equitably on a Regular basis, then the act of passing more Laws is just a waste of time. Criminals won't obey them, and the Honest folks don't deliberately break them.
Without realizing it? I've committed felonies while fully aware of it. My father-in-law lives in upstate New York. My wife, son, and I live in FL. I have a concealed carry permit. Rather than be disarmed for the entire trip (we drove), including at least two or three nights in hotels, I chose to carry my pistol. I was legal in every state except NY, where I wouldn't even be allowed to bring my firearm into the state under their Byzantine gun laws, even disassembled. I refused to put my family at risk, so instead chose to take a different risk myself.
The fact that I had an attorney's number on speed dial for the violation of 2nd amendment rights was just a coincidence...
The Gun Free School Zone Act has made far many more of us felons than this law in Florida, and it continues to do so every day. Even cops who are not on duty fall into its trap.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_Free_School_Zone_Act
Oh I'm right there with ya Fred - NCC is peppered with school zones. Even though the State has to prove intent, the GFSZ Act is one of those that is virtually impossible not to violate. Of course your chances of actuallly being charged under it for violation are next to nothing as well.
Anon- That's something anti's refuse to accept. Laws only work if people choose to obey them. We make value judgments and risk assessments, and sometimes otherwise law-abiding folks decide that exercising their rights in violation of the law is worth the risk. I can't say I blame them. The state has left them no choice.
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