After considering the U.S. Supreme Court's new test on the scope of the Second Amendment right to possess firearms, announced in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reaffirmed its longstanding precedent upholding the constitutionality of a federal statutory ban on convicted felons' possession of firearms, even for nonviolent felons. Vincent v. Garland, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 24554, at *1-2 (10th Cir. Sep. 15, 2023).

A Nonviolent Convicted Felon Challenged the Ban

Melynda Vincent, who was convicted of a nonviolent felony (bank fraud), challenged the federal ban on possession of firearms by convicted felons established by the Gun Control Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), arguing that it violates the Second Amendment rights of nonviolent felons like herself.