Abstract
This Comment ... assume(s) that all persons have an individual, fundamental right to self-defense protected by the Constitution's Due Process Clause. In its current form, North Carolina's Felony Firearms Act infringes on that right by denying an impermissibly broad classification of individuals the ability to acquire, own, control, or otherwise possess a firearm - even in their own home, faced with a life-threatening situation. Even when the person whose rights have been deprived has shown a flawless respect for the law for the past forty years. Even when that person's original "felony" was nothing more than an innocuous violation of a technical rule. Even when other, comparatively more violent criminals get to keep their firearm. While the Britt v. State decision ultimately turned out well for Barney Britt, individuals in his situation should be able to preserve their fundamental right to self-defense without being forced to spend nearly half a decade locked in litigation.
Recommended Citation
Matthew Jordan Cochran, A Fighting Chance for Outlaws: Strict Scrutiny of North Carolinas Felony Firearms Act, 32 Campbell L. Rev. 333 (2010).