• Zak@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    The charges are absurd

    Why? Lying on the gun purchase background check form is a felony. It says so right above the signature line on the form. The evidence he lied on the form looks pretty strong.

    I do realize the crime is not prosecuted often, but that seems like a mistake. The Charleston church shooter, for example should have failed his background check and been prosecuted for the same crime.

    • MartianRecon@lemmus.org
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      5 months ago

      Theres no way to prove beyond a reasonable doubt he was on substances when he purchased the firearm. The form asks if you’re a USER of drugs. If he was not using substances when he was buying the firearm, he didn’t lie.

      That’s fine. If this is now precedent, the government needs to go and retroactively charge all users, and not just a spotlight democrat.

      • Zak@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        27 CFR § 478.11 addresses that. The court is not making new law here.

        Such use is not limited to the use of drugs on a particular day, or within a matter of days or weeks before, but rather that the unlawful use has occurred recently enough to indicate that the individual is actively engaged in such conduct. A person may be an unlawful current user of a controlled substance even though the substance is not being used at the precise time the person seeks to acquire a firearm or receives or possesses a firearm.

    • underwire212@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      Right, the charges aren’t absurd at all. No one is above the law; not Hunter, not Trump. It applies to everyone. The evidence was provided to a jury of his peers, and they determined that that evidence proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.