Should Felons have ALL rights restored after their debt is paid

[Bandit]

A question was asked should felons be allowed to vote well what about owning a firearm? Or how about the right to Privacy. Should all rights be restored or just voting rights?

[MSgt213]

1. Vote: Yes. Firearm: No.

[LeftofU]

4. even if the crime was not violent? n/t

[MSgt213]

8. I could bend on but only because a violent offender who wants a gun is

going to get a gun. I also believe there are people out their right now legally with guns that should have them taken away from them because they are unstable.

[strategery blunder]

2. Depends on whether they committed violent crime

I would feel very uncomfortable if someone who served time for armed robbery was allowed to own a firearm.

However, all felons should have the right to vote after they have served their time, imho.

[Fovea]

5. Right on

Exactly my take on it.

How can you ask someone to be a good citizen, if they lack the most basic right of citizenship?

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. Yes, why not?

Most of them probably won't vote anyway. And if they are interested in participating in society enough to vote, then we should encourage such acceptable social behavior.

In regards to firearms. Not if you have a history of violent crimes.

[patricia92243]

6. Vote- yes, immediately. Firearms - yes - after 10 years.

[MAlibdem]

7. Yes, all rights restored

If you commit a crime in our society, you should be rehabilitated, not forever shamed and marked.

[mot78]

9. Depends on the crime

But for the most part, I think they should be able to vote again unless they committed a really horrific crime.

[RoeBear]

10. It's an interesting question...

on one hand they have repaid their debt to society or they shouldn't have been released. But it's also obvious many of the felons released from prison will return to crime.

[Columbia]

11. A couple questions to all

If we don't think a released felon is responsible enough to legally own a firearm, why do you think s/he is responsible enough to belong in civil society?

Does a felon who has paid his debt to soceity forfeit his right to protect his life and his family using the most effective means available?

[rabid_nerd]

12. Well...

It would be smarter to include any ban from weapons for violent offenders into the sentence.

That said, I wish every punishment was required to be spelled out in each individual sentence - even if it's a copy-and-paste 99% of the time.

Once we start sentencing a bad check writer to "lifetime ban from the polling booth", I think people will start to notice.

If it's not specifically in their sentence, I don't believe any punishment by category should be allowed.

I don't care if certain punishments are automatic - just spell them out in the sentence when handed down.

[rucky]

13. Yes...unless it's expressly part of their sentence

and even then, it needs to be voted into the penal code.

[Florida_Geek]

14. Watch the tables turn with this post

OK once a child sex offender is release should all their rights to privacy be restored.

[unblock]

15. voting rights should NEVER be revoked

i MIGHT be convinced that voting rights should be revoked for those guilty of VOTING crimes. but other than that (and i'm not convinced about that one) i think that it's a VERY STUPID IDEA to give GOVERNMENT the power to PICK AND CHOOSE VOTERS.

government can chose which crimes get punished by loss of voting rights, and government can chose which blacks, eh, i mean which people get charged with crimes punishable by loss of voting rights, and so on.

this is obviously a very dangerous weapon in the hands of government.

on the flip side of the issue, there is NO compelling rationale for using voting rights as part of the punishment. its deterrent value is obviously ZERO ("distribute half a million dollars worth of cocaine and get rich quick at the risk of getting killed? no thanks, i have to VOTE in november! count me out!") so WHY do it?

it's 100% about controlling who gets to vote, and it's 100% shameful that people are trying to take away the right to vote. it's HORRI BLE government to make loss of voting rights something the government has the power to impose selectively.

this means that even while in prison, felons still have the right to vote.

[LeftofU]

16. Voting rights are not always taken away.....gun rights are.

[Selwynn]

17. It's too contextual to make a blanket yes or no.

Some rights should never be lost. Some rights should be restored. And some rights should not be restored, at least in certain situations.

[Bandit]

18. Nobody said anything about Privacy rights

Should convicted felons have the same right to privacy as anyone else after they have served their time?

[Ysabel]

19. that kind of begs the question...

what privacy rights do any of us really have...?

and i really don't know the answer to that question...