Felons, Parolees Getting Hunting Licenses

This is pretty scary. NRA aside. If it is that easy than no border is safe. No lives are safe. It is the will of those seeking the licenses.

Hi Buzz,

Here are parts of an article speaking about the felons in Vermont that hunt.I found it for you,even though it is old nothing has changed since this article,and it echos the same theme as your post.

Enforce The Laws we have.
There is a clamor for more stringent gun laws in the wake of the recent tragic shootings as would be expected. But before we debate the need for more laws we should demand that our existing gun laws be enforced so we can see if new laws are actually needed. I find it disgusting that federal gun law violations are virtually ignored in Vermont and in most other states. The reasons given are a lack of money and resources, so why pass more laws that we will not enforce? Earlier this month the Vermont media carried a story about those who have committed the federal crime of lying on an application to purchase a firearm. Since the Brady law went into effect five years ago, those who want to purchase a handgun have been required to fill out a form and undergo a background check. Lying on the form is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Since 1994 and the Brady law, 575 people lied on their applications to purchase firearms in Vermont. Guess how many were prosecuted. One. That's right, only one person was prosecuted for violating the much ballyhooed federal gun law. The prosecution rate nationally is also a joke, about one percent of those who violate the same federal gun law. Since last fall background checks have been extended to long guns as well as handguns. The idea for the law was sound.Convicted felons,those who have committed domestic violence, those judged mentally incompetent and others most of us would agree should not possess guns are supposed to be identified by the checks and prevented from obtaining the firearm. U.S. Attorney Charles Tetzlaff, the person who prosecutes the gun cases in Vermont, simply does not have the resources and is busy triaging crimes to deal with the most serious. However he recognizes the ridiculousness of what is happening.The federal prosecutor said,"If you believe in gun laws,then the citizenry is the loser.You have a law that is not enforced all the time."Talk about understatement! Lying on the application is not the only common gun law violation either. Federal law makes it illegal for convicted felons to possess firearms, but ask any law enforcement officer you know and they will likely tell you how difficult it is to get the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to get involved.The BATF is also overworked and thus felons all over Vermont openly possess firearms and nothing is being done about the violation of federal law.It is time that we demand of Congress that sufficient resources be committed to enforcing existing gun laws before they rush to pass more feel good legislation. Sen. Leahy, Sen. Jeffords, Rep. Sanders,we do not need more laws that will be ignored by criminals and prosecutors alike.

http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/gary_moore/story/915c0af16

Vermont gun laws;
http://www.atg.state.vt.us/display.php?smod=21

During good times, we don't want convicted felons, and parolees, to have guns, but if times get tough, we REALLY don't want convicted felons, and parolees, to have guns.

I also think if Al Qaeda wants to recruit members in the U.S., perpetual criminals would likely be fertile ground. Here in CA, they found that some of the clerics, visiting Muslim inmates, were recruiting them into terrorist organizations.