Seeking a Presidential Pardon? Try Praising the Right to Bear Arms

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NOVEMBER 29, 2008

Seeking a Presidential Pardon? Try Praising the Right to Bear Arms
Five Forgiven by Bush Share a Trait: They Really Missed Their Weapons
By AMIR EFRATI
WSJ


A decade ago, Leslie Collier, a 50-year-old corn and soybean farmer in Charleston, Mo., pleaded guilty to poisoning bald eagles. He says the worst thing about his criminal record was that it meant he was barred by law from owning a gun. "Ever since I was old enough to remember, my dad and uncles took me hunting. Goose, duck, deer, turkey, rabbit and squirrel hunting, mostly. It was tradition and about the only recreation we had ... . I would like to be able to teach the proper way to hunt and handle firearms ... .I am a good citizen in the community, serve my church, love my country, and pay my taxes. I would greatly appreciate getting this resolved." So, after George W. Bush, a strong defender of the Second Amendment, took office, Mr. Collier wrote to the president seeking a pardon, saying he wanted to go hunting with his kids. He explained that he accidentally killed the eagles while trying to poison coyotes that were attacking wild turkeys and deer on property he farms.

On the surface, the list of the 14 people pardoned by the president this week shows few common denominators in terms of time served, geographic location or even type of crime, except that the felonies were non-violent. But a closer look at some of the newly pardoned shows many of them are church-going, blue-collar workers from rural areas (and ardent Bush supporters) who had little trouble finding jobs after their convictions. There is another common thread: the important role firearms once played in their lives... Coincidentally or not, at least seven of the 14 pardoned on Monday are former hunters or shooting enthusiasts. In interviews, five of them said they wrote in their petitions to the government that a desire to win back the right to bear arms was a chief reason for wanting a pardon.

Robert Mohon Jr. of Grant, Ala., who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and served a year in prison in the late 1980s, wrote in his petition that he was concerned about his heritage. He wanted to pass down his father's hunting rifles to his grandchildren and teach them "the enjoyment of the outdoors." His felony record was standing in the way. "That's what's wrong with the world today -- nobody knows how to handle guns," says the 61-year-old retiree.

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Many felons can win back some rights from their states after they complete their punishment. But the right to possess guns can be restored only by the president, says Margaret Love, a former pardon attorney under the first President Bush and the first term of President Clinton, who pardoned 396, mostly during his second term. (Felons are allowed to possess certain antique guns, she says.)

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122790763963865173.html (subscription)

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