The Second Amendment Has No Exceptions

Some opponents of abortion have been accused by other pro-lifers of weakening their case against abortion by making exceptions to abortion prohibitions, such as when the life or health of the mother is at risk, when the fetus is not yet viable or is likely to have some abnormality, or when the fetus is the result of rape or incest.

Likewise, when it comes to the issue of gun control, even some defenders of the Second Amendment allow for exceptions.

But does the Second Amendment have any exceptions?

The Second Amendment was added to the Constitution as part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the Constitution) after it was approved by the Congress and then the requisite number of states on December 15, 1791. The 27 words of the Second Amendment read: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”

It is clear that the Second Amendment has no exceptions.

Yet, according to 18 U.S. Code Chapter 44 Part I – FIREARMS, in §922 – Unlawful acts, (g)(1):

(g) It shall be unlawful for any person—

(1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;

(1) to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or

(2) to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

This prohibition was first imposed in 1961 as an amendment to the Federal Firearms Act of 1938. It does not take into account how long ago the conviction occurred, the nature of the offense, the penalty that was imposed, the jail time that was served, or what the perpetrator has done with his life since the incident occurred.

Firearms and ammunition are also prohibited for anyone convicted of domestic violence, dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces, who is a fugitive from justice, who is an unlawful drug user, who has been committed to a mental institution, who is an illegal alien, who has renounced his citizenship, or has had a restraining order issued against him.

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, about 19 million Americans have been convicted of a felony. Yet, over 95 percent of federal felony convictions and over 80 percent of state felony convictions were for nonviolent crimes.

In 2008, Utah resident Melynda Vincent was convicted of bank fraud — a federal felony — because she wrote a bad check for $498.12 at a grocery store. She was sentenced to probation, which she completed. She then went to college, earned three degrees, and became a social worker. Vincent is the founder of the Utah Harm Reduction Coalition (UHRC), “a non-profit community-based organization providing harm reduction services, education, and advocacy throughout the state of Utah.” Its mission “is to provide evidence-based interventions to aid people in reducing health and social harms associated with substance use.”

Because she is not legally permitted to own a gun, Vincent, a single mother, is unable to keep a gun for protection or to lawfully go shooting with her children. She sought a declaration from the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah that 18 USC 922(g)(1) is unconstitutional. After being denied, she appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit — Vincent v. Bondi (2025) — which also ruled against her. She then submitted a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is still pending.

The relevant issue here is simply this: Does the Second Amendment allow the federal government to permanently disarm a U.S. citizen who has an old, nonviolent felony conviction? But there is a broader issue here as well: Does the Second Amendment allow the federal government to disarm — temporarily or permanently — anyone for any reason?

The answer to both questions is, of course, no. This is because the Second Amendment has no exceptions. It has no exceptions for licensing, background checks, registration, age, concealed weapons, gun shows, sawed-off shotguns, assault rifles, extended-capacity magazines, high caliber guns and ammunition, automatic weapons, or bazookas.

If there are to be restrictions on convicted felons owning guns, then they should be enacted on the state level. Do I want convicted felons to be able to own guns? It depends on the felon and on the conviction. First of all, many crimes that are classified as felonies should be misdemeanors or no crime at all. Second, no convicted murderer should be permitted to own a gun for the simple reason that no convicted murderer should ever be let out of prison. Third, someone convicted of armed robbery or some actual crime with a firearm who upon his release from prison wants to do it all over again, is not concerned with whether it is lawful to own a gun while he commits a crime.

But regardless of my opinion regarding state laws, the Second Amendment is very clear: It has no exceptions, not even for convicted felons.

Originally published at the Future of Freedom Foundation and reposted here with permission.

Tags: 2nd Amendment, Conservatives, Right to Keep and Bear Arms