Seems To Us, They Are Some Of The Few Who Should Be Able To

May 3, 2013 

Coming Sunday: Register investigation into sex offenders with weapons

"Sex offenders with a permits to carry a gun: Dubuque resident Joshua Duehr is a registered sex offender who has a permit to carry a gun in Iowa.

IIn this photograph he is posing for a photograph with his Ruger 45 caliber automatic pistol during an interview at his home in Dubuque, Iowa.

Should Iowa’s registered sex offenders be allowed to carry weapons in public?

In Sunday’s Des Moines Register and at DesMoinesRegister.com, learn how many sex offenders across the state have permits to carry guns.

And see what state lawmakers and law enforcement officers, including an FBI official, said after learning how many of Iowa’s convicted sex offenders have weapons permits.

Not everyone agrees on the question of whether sex offenders should be allowed to obtain gun permits and carry weapons in public. Some university researchers believe that “there’s no blanket way of stating that sex offenders are more dangerous than everybody else.”"

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013130503031

3 a.m. EDT May 5, 2013

Iowa sex offenders issued gun permits

"There are no known studies that review the rates of crimes using guns committed by sex offenders after their initial convictions, according to Conlon of the FBI and researchers at Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice. That information would be useful in assessing the level of risk created by giving gun permits to sex offenders, Conlon said.

National uniform crime data from 2006 — the most recent data available — show that about half of all reported sex offenses included a weapon of some form (including the use of fists) but less than 1%of all reported sex offenses included the use of a firearm, according to Jason Rydberg, a graduate student at Michigan State.

Iowa numbers mirror the national trend. Of the roughly 5,750 people on Iowa's sex offender registry, 47 — or less than 1% — used guns in their crimes, according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

State law enforcement officials do not check to see if sex offenders who previously used weapons to commit their crimes now have carry permits because it's not one of checks they are required to make under Iowa law.

The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, a national organization focused on the prevention of sexual abuse, generally advocates for cases to be reviewed individually when assessing if a sex offender is likely to re-offend or jeopardize public safety.

"There's no blanket way of stating that sex offenders are more dangerous than everybody else," said Maia Christopher, executive director of the association."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/05/sex-offenders-issued-gun-permits/2135979/

Iowa sex offenders issued gun permits

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/usatoday/article/2135979

Some Iowa sex offenders receive gun permits

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/Some-Iowa-sex-offenders-receive-gun-permits-4489892.php

SHERIFF CONCERNED: Sex Offenders Can Have Gun Permits

http://whotv.com/2013/05/05/sheriffs-concerned-sex-offenders-can-have-gun-permits/

The Gun Report: May 10, 2013
 
http://nocera.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/10/the-gun-report-may-10-2013/

*****

So much for banning them ...

PUBLISHED: 23:11, 29 April 2013 | UPDATED: 15:43, 30 April 2013

Sex offender who had said wanted to die in 'suicide by cop' walks into police station and pulls out a gun... but is wounded in the arm

"But court records show K violated the terms of his probation in 2002, and it was revoked and reinstated. He completed probation in 2004.

K's 1999 felony conviction would have prohibited him from possessing any guns, said Dwayne Baird, spokesman for the Utah Department of Public Safety. If he had a concealed-weapons permit, that would have been taken from him as well.

State authorities cannot release any information about who holds a permit, Baird said."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2316817/Shots-police-lobby-sex-offender-James-Ramsey-Kammeyer-wanted-suicide-cop-Salt-Lake-City.html

*****

Don't registered sex offenders need gun rights for personal self-defense more than others?

http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2013/05/dont-registered-sex-offenders-need-gun-rights-for-personal-self-defense-more-than-others.html

*****

Mo. high court mulls sex offender and gun laws

http://www.newspressnow.com/news/state/article_d474a5b5-bd5a-5030-891a-780fa1f4eeb9.html