The tragic shooting in Newtown, Conn., has led to a call for additional controls on the sale and use of firearms. Legislators are considering new restrictions on the purchase and ownership of weapons. As the issue of gun control is debated, it is worth examining how effective current laws have been in prohibiting firearm violations. A quick review of recent cases demonstrates that prosecutors have their hands full in trying to win these cases.
Consider, for example, the recent case of U.S. v. Griffin, 684 F.3d 691 (7th Cir. 2012). A jury convicted Cory Griffin of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). When Griffin was released from prison in 2008, he moved in with his parents in their single-family home in Milwaukee. His probation officer informed Griffin that he could not “purchase, possess, own or carry any firearm or any weapon [without express permission].” Three weeks after he moved back into his parents’ home, a police SWAT team executed a search on the home looking for Griffin’s brother. The police did not find the brother, but they did find the defendant, as well as 10 firearms and several sets of ammunition.
