US appeals court limits felon gun ban, allows for violent cases

Court says felony gun ban constitutional for convictions involving violence or threats 3rd Circuit upholds ban as applied to man convicted of terroristic threats Court rules against ban as applied to Pennsylvania man whose disqualifying conviction was DUI By Nate Raymond Oct 13 (Reuters) — A US appeals court concluded on Tuesday that a federal law barring felons from owning guns can only be constitutionally applied when a person's prior conviction involved violence or threats suggesting a risk of firearms misuse. The full Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in a pair of decisions ruled that in such cases, the primary federal law used to keep guns out of felons' hands does not violate the US Constitution's Second Amendment. The court, which now has a conservative majority following recent appointments by Republican President Donald Trump, said the law could be used to disarm a man convicted in a carjacking case but not against another man whose conviction stemmed from a DUI conviction. The decisions came in the latest in a series of court cases grappling with whether modern firearms restrictions remain valid after ​the Supreme Court handed down a landmark Second Amend