First, discussing civil disobedience isn't a felony. If anything, saying it is and the discussion should stop is attempting to suppress our 1st Amendment Rights.
The internet exists on that foundation - we discuss things freely because we can. When the internet is shut down to repress speech, you definitely see people arranging ways to circumvent it. When hoarding ammo was a thread subject that got shut down, I started one on the subject of who's paying top dollar for ammo? Same discussion, different title. Went on and on for pages.
You can't stop free speech.
It this case it is the possibility of a felon conviction that will prevent you for legally owning guns for the rest of your life and will put a stain on your record that will make it difficult to find work.
There's two thoughts in this quote. First, IF a conviction is actually rendered - small chance - THEN it has to be said - so what? Felons who choose to acquire firearms are arrested every week, usually in the commission of other crimes that reveal them. The conviction didn't really stop anything. That is because criminals don't obey laws.
The only result from the conviction is that the firearm involved will taken away. It has to be found, first, and then, it's assumed it's the only one? As many have pointed out already, you conceal the ones you want to keep. The cops get the ones you don't.
Secondly, in this economy, even felons can get work. I had a job that hired them every day. All they had to do was show up on time, and work. Any decent citizen with good work habits with a felony conviction for possessing a firearm under these conditions may not find a great job, they will still find one. Those who don't understand that obviously are living in a sheltered life.
When it comes down to losing your freedom, many peoples from many cultures have accepted the risk. Let's take a hypothetical person convicted of his civil disobedience and then incarcerated as a "lesson" to the community at large. It costs how much to house one? $50 - 100,000 a year. If said person has no other history of violence, and is considered no further threat to society, he's likely to see minimum security. Even work release - it's how the MO prisons "rehabilitate" drug offenders.
So, the diabetic convict's meds are now free, his meals, too, he has a place to sleep, possibly a day job to take up his time, medical care, and gets to interact with other low violence propensity citizens also incarcerated on other "crimes."
Not much different that a normal day at work. Sounds like active duty in the Armed Forces to me. Been there, done that. Boring.
Whoooo, I'm so scared.
Connecticut doesn't want to have the ongoing tax dollar liability of thousands of offenders, which is why they won't search out and discover them. That alone would cost the government more dollars in staff to compile a list. Who's going to apply for that and be vetted? How? More expense, whether outsourced or additional .gov/state employees.
Once the lists are coming out to hunt down these felons, more cops hired to go get them. That alone becomes an unfunded mandate that the county Sheriffs are already prickly about. Don't tell them they have to do even more work for nothing. They already have a full plate with real criminals. Expect a major backlash exactly like CA and NY. The Sheriff's are about 90% opposed.
From the real perspective of politics, the law as it sits on the books is a massive fail. Already. It's now a lever to use by conservatives to pry office seats open to a balanced election, because voters will have all this painfully explained over and over that their representative blew it. They passed a law impetuously with no regard for the unintended consequences.
Sound like the ACA? Yup.
It's happened before, it will happen again. That is because we keep electing politicians who smell out which way the wind blows on any issue and vote to keep the people happy, rather than represent them on both sides of an issue and act like statesmen to preserve the rights of all.
Frankly, to quote an famous American, you get the Congress you deserve, in CT, they got exactly what they voted in. It doesn't mean they can't learn from their mistakes and mature as citizens. It will mean more of them will get involved.
Net result, go ahead, convict me. Jail me, even. And try to sweep this under the rug so the next election it doesn't come up.
May you live in interesting times.
