Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A man trying to convince Pennsylvania to let him own a gun has taken his case to the Idaho Supreme Court.
Todd Rich was convicted of rape in Idaho in 1992, a felony that comes with a permanent loss of gun rights, The Spokesman-Review reported.
His conviction, however, was reduced to a misdemeanor through a 2004 sentencing agreement.
Rich now lives in Pennsylvania, where a judge has ruled that he cannot own a gun because of the rape case.
Rich filed suit in Idaho, asking a judge to declare that he still has gun rights in that state. But Fourth District Judge Lynn Norton dismissed the suit in 2014, saying Rich has no standing to sue.
Rich challenged that ruling Tuesday in the Idaho Supreme Court.
"His conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor and his civil rights were restored. There's no reference of any kind made to firearms," Leo Griffard, Rich's attorney, told justices.
Stephanie Altig, a deputy Idaho attorney general who represents the Idaho State Police, countered that Rich's gun rights would likely not be restored in Pennsylvania even if they were returned in Idaho.
"I don't think that if a district court in Idaho magically wrote down in a decision that Mr. Rich's firearms rights would be restored, I don't think it gets him anything under the Pennsylvania definition," Altig told justices.
Griffard responded that Rich is no longer a convicted felon under the Idaho Constitution, which means he has a right to bear arms.
The justices have taken the case under advisement and will issue a decision in the upcoming weeks.