The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case deciding if a lifetime ban on felons owning guns violates the Second Amendment.
The court turned the case away in an unsigned order. It concerned the appeal of Ken Flick, a Georgia man who was convicted of a felony in 1987 for counterfeiting and importing cassette tapes. Under federal law, Flick is not allowed to own any firearms, a ban he disputed earlier this year before the court.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO HASTEN GUN CONTROL EFFORTS THROUGH EXECUTIVE ACTIONS AND ATF NOMINATION
"While legislatures have wide latitude to define crimes and classify them as felonies, they are not free to cast people out from the Constitution's protection," lawyers for Flick told the Supreme Court in their petition, arguing that the federal government cannot deprive people of their Second Amendment rights.
The case attracted intense attention from gun rights groups, many of whom speculated that the court might accept the case following the addition of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the bench. Barrett in 2019 wrote a dissent in an appeals court case in which the plaintiff made similar arguments as Flick.
Barrett wrote that a Wisconsin man, Rickey Kanter, who had been convicted of mail fraud and was seeking to buy a firearm, should be allowed to do so because his crime was nonviolent.
"Absent evidence that he either belongs to a dangerous category or bears individual markers of risk, permanently disqualifying Kanter from possessing a gun violates the Second Amendment," Barrett wrote.
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Barrett's position was the topic of significant debate during her confirmation hearings, with some at the time also speculating that she could tip the court toward acting on the issue.
The Supreme Court has not made a major Second Amendment decision since 2010. The court is currently reviewing a case from New York deciding whether gun owners can carry their weapons concealed in public, a case that could have massive implications for gun ownership.
