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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Senate quashes Sheriffs Association bill to add more felonies to list that precludes restoring gun rights

The Senate has killed legislation proposed by the Idaho Sheriff’s Association to add eight additional crimes to the list of felonies for which gun rights aren’t restored after serving time. The eight: Terrorism, arson, theft by extortion, human trafficking, felony rioting, hijacking, racketeering, and supplying firearms to a criminal gang.

When the bill was introduced Feb. 8, Sheriff’s Association Lobbyist Mike Kane asked, “Who could argue against that?” Today, it turned out the answer was most members of the Idaho Senate. After extensive debate against the bill, led by Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, it was voted down 29-6.

The current list in Idaho law includes 37 crimes that disqualify an ex-con from having gun rights restored after serving a sentence, including murder, rape, kidnapping, aggravated assault, burglary, intimidating a witness, robbery, cannibalism, felony drug trafficking, and more.

Betsy Z. Russell

Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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