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Circuit Court rules that illegal immigrants have no right to bear arms in U.S.

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
May 9th, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

A federal appeals court has ruled that illegal immigrants don't have a right to own firearms under the U.S. Constitution. Emmanuel Huitron-Guizar of Wyoming pleaded guilty to being an illegal immigrant in possession of firearms after his arrest last year and was ordered held by immigration authorities at the Natrona County Detention Center in Wyoming.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Huitron-Guizar had argued that illegal aliens are guaranteed certain other rights by the U.S. Constitution, such as the right to due process. The Second Amendment provides that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed," and Huitron-Guizar argued he was part of "the people."

But the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled that Huitron-Guizar fell under the Gun Control Act of 1968, which forbids gun possession by nine classes of individuals, including illegal aliens. It conceded there is some argument about the meaning of "the people" and U.S. citizens - but found that Congress had lawfully exercised its power to distinguish between citizens and non-citizens.

"That Congress saw fit to exclude illegal aliens from carrying guns may indicate its belief, entitled to our respect, that such aliens, as a class, possess no such constitutional right," the court said.

Huitron-Guizar's attorney appealed the case, saying that illegal immigrants are not excluded from possessing firearms like felons and people who are mentally ill, and should have the same rights as other U.S. citizens to buy a gun for hunting and protection.

The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver ruled this week that illegal immigrants have only limited protection under the Constitution.

Huitron-Guizar's attorney, Ronald Pretty says that he plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In an earlier case, the United States v. Portillo-Munoz, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that illegal immigrants are not part of the "people" protected by the Second Amendment and have no constitutional right to bear arms.

Defendant-appellant Armando Portillo-Munoz was arrested by a Dimmit, Texas police officer who found a .22 caliber handgun in the center console of a four-wheeler driven by Portillo. Portillo indicated to officers that the handgun was used to shoot coyotes at a ranch he worked at. Portillo admitted to being a native and citizen of Mexico and illegally present in the United States.

Portillo's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5), which makes it unlawful for an illegal alien to possess a firearm or ammunition, would violate the Second Amendment. The district court denied the motion to dismiss and Portillo entered a conditional guilty plea. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of the motion to dismiss.

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