danielle
07-16-2002, 04:33 AM
Ex-convict can carry gun if elected sheriff
From Alabama
As a convicted felon, Hubert Norris cannot possess a firearm – unless he’s elected sheriff of Fayette County.
Norris served as the county’s sheriff from 1974 to 1989 before pleading guilty to federal racketeering charges that he accepted bribes from bootleggers, spending 30 months in prison. But on June 25, county voters overwhelmingly chose him as the Democratic nominee for the office.
Now, federal officials say the law would allow him to carry a firearm if he’s elected, even though he still can’t keep a gun as a private citizen.
“The situation is this: He could not personally possess a firearm,” said Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of Tennessee and Alabama for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. “But in his official capacity as sheriff, he’s exempt from the law.”
From Alabama
As a convicted felon, Hubert Norris cannot possess a firearm – unless he’s elected sheriff of Fayette County.
Norris served as the county’s sheriff from 1974 to 1989 before pleading guilty to federal racketeering charges that he accepted bribes from bootleggers, spending 30 months in prison. But on June 25, county voters overwhelmingly chose him as the Democratic nominee for the office.
Now, federal officials say the law would allow him to carry a firearm if he’s elected, even though he still can’t keep a gun as a private citizen.
“The situation is this: He could not personally possess a firearm,” said Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of Tennessee and Alabama for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. “But in his official capacity as sheriff, he’s exempt from the law.”