Judge holds gun ban for felony defendants unconstitutional

PECOS, Texas (AP) — A U.S. judge in West Texas has ruled unconstitutional a federal law banning those under felony indictments from buying guns. U.S. District Judge David Counts, whom then-President Donald Trump appointed to the federal bench in Pecos, Texas, dismissed a federal indictment against Jose Gomez Quiroz that had charged him under the federal ban. Quiroz was under a state burglary indictment when he tried to buy a handgun and challenged the ensuing federal charge. Counts acknowledges the case’s “real-world consequences” and that valid public policy and safety concerns exist. However, he says precedents hold the Second Amendment as definite.