Should ex-cons be allowed to vote, Holder thinks so

[TheSiege]

I am not sure why they shouldn't be, they paid their debt to society.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/11/holder-voting-rights-ex-felons/5377119/

 

[PokerGuy]

Of course holder wants criminals to be able to vote, what better way could you possibly come up with to quickly gain a ton of democrat votes? People who are used to having government provide everything and control their lives -- a perfect constituency for the dems, not surprising that Holder would push for them to be able to vote.

Holder is pretty much the poster boy for epic failures.

 

[Munky]

There are valid reasons for or against it, but I would give them the vote to avoid the slippery slope.

 

[surfsatwerk]

A citizen who has paid his debt to society should have a vote.

 

[Jimzz]

A citizen who has paid his debt to society should have a vote.

This.

If they served their time then give them their full freedom.

 

[Newell Steamer]

The whole point of prison is to rehab the person - so, they can become a functional and law abiding person (or, to deter someone and enforce they continue being functional law abiding people,..); why in God's name should they not be allowed to vote, after they serve their time in prison?

 

[dainthomas]

The whole point of prison is to rehab the person - so, they can become a functional and law abiding person (or, to deter someone and enforce they continue being functional law abiding people,..); why in God's name should they not be allowed to vote, after they serve their time in prison?

This

 

[berzerker60]

Yep. The former GOP Governor of Virginia was really good about this, actually. Considering the known problems with the US judicial system today, it's not like it's a truly reliable indicator for who is or isn't a criminal anyway. And any society that has a serious bloc of voters who are former felons has enough problems that they're not going to be a serious issue compared to what's already going on. No one can campaign going after the 'felon vote' without pissing off a lot more non-felons, especially in this age where every pandering statement ends up on youtube.

 

[who?]

Once they have completed all probation, prison, and parole they can get their voting privilege back in Arkansas.

 

[JockoJohnson]

A citizen who has paid his debt to society should have a vote.

Agreed. They should also not have to divulge any criminal past when applying for jobs and their background checks should come up clean if they paid their debt to society. Why is there no big push for this? And I am serious about this, not poking fun at the logic for letting them vote. They shouldn't be separate issues. If their debt is paid then they should be accepted as a fully functional citizen.

 

[CrackRabbit]

This

I can agree, with the caveat that the person be truly finished with their sentence and not just on parole.

 

[PokerGuy]

The whole point of prison is to rehab the person - so, they can become a functional and law abiding person (or, to deter someone and enforce they continue being functional law abiding people,..); why in God's name should they not be allowed to vote, after they serve their time in prison?

Using that same logic, you'd be fine then with the convicted felon having a weapon then right? After all, he's now a rehabbed functional law abiding person and should retain all his constitutional rights? () Or is it just certain rights that should be re-instated to benefit one political party?

When you commit a felony you willingly permanently give up the right to vote. I don't see a problem with that.

 

[rommelrommel]

Agreed. They should also not have to divulge any criminal past when applying for jobs and their background checks should come up clean if they paid their debt to society. Why is there no big push for this? And I am serious about this, not poking fun at the logic for letting them vote. They shouldn't be separate issues. If their debt is paid then they should be accepted as a fully functional citizen.

Fuck that. If I'm running a business I want to know if the guy I'm hiring has a felony theft/fraud/whatever conviction.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Using that same logic, you'd be fine then with the convicted felon having a weapon then right? After all, he's now a rehabbed functional law abiding person and should retain all his constitutional rights? () Or is it just certain rights that should be re-instated to benefit one political party?

When you commit a felony you willingly permanently give up the right to vote. I don't see a problem with that.

No different than how a mentally unstable person can buy a gun - since there are no psychological tests conducted on gun owners (nor should there be).

Just as you don't know what the intent is of any buyer of a firearm,... nor can you decide what the intent is of a rehabed ex convict. As long as they paid their debt to society, they are back to being citizens.

 

[PokerGuy]

They shouldn't be separate issues. If their debt is paid then they should be accepted as a fully functional citizen.

Yeah, sure. You can have your kids watched by a "fully functional citizen" who has repaid their debt to society for a previous child molestation. Or, you can have an employee who has been convicted of 10 thefts handle the money for your business, I'm sure it's perfectly safe. I guess having the convicted felon walking around armed is perfectly fine too?

I believe in forgive but not forget. Yes, you've been punished and gotten out of jail, so you shouldn't be punished further, but that doesn't mean society should just forget whatever you did.

 

[sactoking]

To advocate for the devil: If a person who has served their time has paid their debt and deserves their right to vote, should said person also be allowed access to firearms? If said person's crime was of a sexually predatory nature, does that mean that sex offender databases also should be abolished?

 

[CrackRabbit]

Using that same logic, you'd be fine then with the convicted felon having a weapon then right? After all, he's now a rehabbed functional law abiding person and should retain all his constitutional rights?
{Political Stupidness deleted}

Absolutely, with the exceptions of violent and some gun crime related felons.

 

[PokerGuy]

No different than how a mentally unstable person can buy a gun - since there are no psychological tests conducted on gun owners (nor should there be).

Just as you don't know what the intent is of any buyer of a firearm,... nor can you decide what the intent is of a rehabed ex convict. As long as they paid their debt to society, they are back to being citizens.

So you didn't answer the question. You're opposed then to laws that make it illegal for convicted felons to have firearms?

I might not know what someone's intent is, but I know based on their past behavior that they don't exercise good judgement and thus should not be entrusted to do (or be able to do) certain things. Getting out of jail just means you've completed the punitive stage, it doesn't mean you magically picked up good judgement.

 

[Newell Steamer]

So you didn't answer the question. You're opposed then to laws that make it illegal for convicted felons to have firearms?

I might not know what someone's intent is, but I know based on their past behavior that they don't exercise good judgement and thus should not be entrusted to do (or be able to do) certain things. Getting out of jail just means you've completed the punitive stage, it doesn't mean you magically picked up good judgement.

If they have served their time, they should be allowed to own a firearm. Not on day one, or year one - especially if their conviction was illegal firearm related activity.

 

[PokerGuy]

The analogy to other rights that are stripped when you commit a felony are perfectly valid (owning a gun etc). Holder just wants this particular block to be able to vote because he knows it's the perfect constituent base for his party.

 

[PokerGuy]

If they have served their time, they should be allowed to own a firearm. Not on day one, or year one - especially if their conviction was illegal firearm related activity.

Oh, so now you're waffling on your premise, adding caveats (not on day one, or year one). So should there be caveats on voting too? (can't vote for 10 years)? It doesn't make sense to get into some crazy schemes to figure out who can do what. If you don't want to be stripped of those rights, don't get convicted of a felony.

 

[dainthomas]

Oh, so now you're waffling on your premise, adding caveats (not on day one, or year one). So should there be caveats on voting too? (can't vote for 10 years)? It doesn't make sense to get into some crazy schemes to figure out who can do what. If you don't want to be stripped of those rights, don't get convicted of a felony.

There shouldn't be caveats on voting. Once you've served your time/probation/whatever you should go back to being a regular citizen. I see no reason why a guy convicted of stealing a car or something when he's twenty shouldn't be allowed to vote when he's 90.

 

[rudeguy]

a felon wants other felons to be able to vote


Imagine that.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Oh, so now you're waffling on your premise, adding caveats (not on day one, or year one). So should there be caveats on voting too? (can't vote for 10 years)? It doesn't make sense to get into some crazy schemes to figure out who can do what. If you don't want to be stripped of those rights, don't get convicted of a felony.

(can't vote for 10 years)?

,... voting doesn't happen every year,...

In regards to waffling, it's just an option, in case the locals go nuts (think of the children, etc.). Or, just have a guns stand available right outside the prison exit - I don't care.

You may think I am stinking liberal, but that's only for social aspects (same sex marriage, human rights, etc.). But, when it comes to gun ownership and spending money, it's conservatism all the way (you should be allowed to own a gun and no more corporate welfare).

I could go eitherway, day 1 ex con or day 100 ex con; if they served their time, they are back to being citizens.

 

[Sonikku]

Why the hell should people be entitled to vote after they've smoked some marijuana?