As a Nevada libertarian/redneck, I'm in favor of the Second Amendment in principle--the government manifestly should not be trusted. But the reality is using shotguns to fend off Apache helicopters is hopeless in practice.
> From: dhenwood at panix.com
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:17:54 -0500
> Subject: [lbo-talk] the Bush style of clemency: love your gun
>
> Wall Street Journal - November 28, 2008
>
> Seeking a Presidential Pardon? Try Praising the Right to Bear Arms
> Five Forgiven by Bush Share a Trait: They Really Missed Their Weapons
>
> By AMIR EFRATI
>
> A decade ago, Leslie Collier, a 50-year-old corn and soybean farmer in
> Charleston, Mo., pleaded guilty to poisoning bald eagles. He says the
> worst thing about his criminal record was that it meant he was barred
> by law from owning a gun.
>
> So, after George W. Bush, a strong defender of the Second Amendment,
> took office, Mr. Collier wrote to the president seeking a pardon,
> saying he wanted to go hunting with his kids. He explained that he
> accidentally killed the eagles while trying to poison coyotes that
> were attacking wild turkeys and deer on property he farms.
>
> On the surface, the list of the 14 people pardoned by the president
> this week shows few common denominators in terms of time served,
> geographic location or even type of crime, except that the felonies
> were non-violent. But a closer look at some of the newly pardoned
> shows many of them are church-going, blue-collar workers from rural
> areas (and ardent Bush supporters) who had little trouble finding jobs
> after their convictions. There is another common thread: the important
> role firearms once played in their lives.
>
> President Bush has pardoned fewer people -- 171 -- than any president
> since World War II, with the exception of his father, who pardoned 74.
> Presidents don't discuss their reasons for issuing pardons, with few
> exceptions. Nor do they tell petitioners why their wish was granted.
> The Justice Department's "pardon attorney," who reviews hundreds of
> petitions a year and recommends candidates to the president, had no
> comment.
>
> Coincidentally or not, at least seven of the 14 pardoned on Monday are
> former hunters or shooting enthusiasts. In interviews, five of them
> said they wrote in their petitions to the government that a desire to
> win back the right to bear arms was a chief reason for wanting a pardon.
>
> Robert Mohon Jr. of Grant, Ala., who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
> distribute marijuana and served a year in prison in the late 1980s,
> wrote in his petition that he was concerned about his heritage. He
> wanted to pass down his father's hunting rifles to his grandchildren
> and teach them "the enjoyment of the outdoors." His felony record was
> standing in the way.
>
> "That's what's wrong with the world today -- nobody knows how to
> handle guns," says the 61-year-old retiree.
>
> The state of Illinois allowed Richard Culpepper to keep his shotguns
> after he was convicted in 1987 of lying to the government in order to
> receive unemployment checks. But in 2002, when he bought an English
> Pointer hunting dog and tried to buy a new gun, he says he was
> rejected and the state revoked his privilege.
>
> So, the 52-year-old retired locomotive engineer from Mahomet, Ill.,
> says he applied for a pardon by explaining the situation and attaching
> photos of Cartman, the dog.
>
> Another pardon recipient from Monday is Danny Pue, 64, of Conroe,
> Texas, who pleaded guilty to illegal storage of hazardous waste and
> got six months' home confinement in 1996. He wrote in his petition
> that he was an avid sport shooter and wanted to enjoy weekly target
> practice with his family again. "We live in the country and I felt
> secure with my firearms," says the machine-shop employee.
>
> Convicted felons lose a host of civil rights, including the right to
> vote, seek political office or bear arms. A presidential pardon
> forgives federal crimes and restores basic rights.
>
>
> LESLIE COLLIER
> Many felons can win back some rights from their states after they
> complete their punishment. But the right to possess guns can be
> restored only by the president, says Margaret Love, a former pardon
> attorney under the first President Bush and the first term of
> President Clinton, who pardoned 396, mostly during his second term.
> (Felons are allowed to possess certain antique guns, she says.)
>
> Before applying for a pardon, an individual must wait five years after
> serving prison time or home confinement and must have finished
> probation or supervised release. The president can exercise his or her
> clemency powers at any time, even if the felon hasn't formally applied.
>
> Petitioners must show they've led an upstanding life since their
> conviction and accepted responsibility for their actions with remorse,
> according to the Justice Department.
>
> The whole process can take years, and the odds are long. Through the
> end of October, President Bush had pardoned 7% of applicants during
> his term, department statistics show. There is a backlog of several
> thousand applications.
>
> President Bush still has more than 50 days left in his term, and
> December is his favorite month for granting clemency, says P.S.
> Ruckman, Jr., a political science professor at Rock Valley College in
> Rockford, Ill., who tracks presidential pardons.
>
> The White House declined to address whether President Bush was trying
> to aid people who sought to restore their gun rights. "The president
> carefully considered recommendations for pardons and commutations on a
> case-by-case basis and made his determination. He will continue to
> review clemency requests," a spokesman said.
>
> In a pardon petition, the applicant must explain the criminal offense,
> give employment and residence history and other biographical
> information, and the reasons for seeking pardon. If the petition
> succeeds, an official in the pardon attorney's office calls the pardon
> recipient by phone to convey the good news.
>
> According to the Justice Department, if a case looks promising, the
> pardon attorney often asks the FBI to conduct a background
> investigation. Bureau agents collect information by interviewing the
> applicants and their friends, neighbors and sometimes former teachers
> and coaches, and assess their reputations in the community. The pardon
> attorney and deputy attorney general, the No. 2 official in the
> Justice Department, give a positive or negative recommendation before
> an application goes to the White House for the president's
> consideration.
>
> Most pardons receive scant attention because they involve ordinary
> citizens with no connection to the president. Others grab headlines,
> including President Clinton's controversial pardon of tax-evasion
> fugitive Marc Rich, whose wife donated money to Mr. Clinton's
> presidential library.
>
> So far, President Bush's pardons have been low-risk politically. The
> pardonees were one-time offenders who got very little or no prison
> time for crimes that occurred long ago. That includes 47-year-old
> Brenda Helmer, who says she "discovered" guns when she dated a police
> officer at age 18. "Ever since then I was hooked," she says.
>
> Mrs. Helmer, who helps run her husband's dentistry practice, says she
> occasionally hunted doves but mostly kept her hobby to target
> shooting. She lost her gun rights after her conviction in 1998 for
> having knowledge of a felony fraud and not reporting it to authorities.
>
> In 2004, she wrote in her pardon petition that she was worried the
> felony might cause delays when she traveled to do missionary work. She
> also wrote that she was a life member of the National Rifle
> Association who wanted her gun rights back.
>
> When the Fort Worth, Texas, resident received the fateful call from
> the Justice Department, she "couldn't talk, or breathe," and spent a
> few moments regrouping before informing her husband, who was by her
> side. "Prayer works," she says.
>
> As for Mr. Collier, the Missouri farmer, he picked up one of his old
> rifles from his parents' house a few hours after receiving the news
> and went into the forest with his 22-year-old son. It was the last day
> of deer season.
>
> ---
>
> "Ever since I was old enough to remember, my dad and uncles took me
> hunting. Goose, duck, deer, turkey, rabbit and squirrel hunting,
> mostly. It was tradition and about the only recreation we had ... . I
> would like to be able to teach [my children] the proper way to hunt
> and handle firearms ... .I am a good citizen in the community, serve
> my church, love my country, and pay my taxes. I would greatly
> appreciate getting this resolved."
>
> -- Lesie Collier, in his application for a pardon (Read the full
> application and the pardon later issued by the White House)
>
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