Convicted felons don't have a Second Amendment right to walk around with a gun, so man will still have to face trial for the loaded firearm police found on him, judge rules

A man on probation following a ten-year stay in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm will have to face a new federal trial for the same offense because of the loaded gun Boston Police say the took out of his sweatpants in Grove Hall in 2022, a judge has ruled.

Kevin "Whammie" Johnson's attorney argued the charge, stemming from an incident Nov. 6, 2022 on Brunswick Street, should be dropped because of a Supreme Court decision, known as the Bruen ruling, that law-abiding citizens have the right to roam around with guns for self-protection.

But in a ruling last week, US District Court Judge Allison Burroughs noted that Johnson's history is proof he is not a law-abiding citizen, that neither the Supreme Court's ruling in Bruen nor its earlier ruling in its Heller decision outlaw a federal bar against felon gun ownership or state gun regulations in general.

The Supreme Court has established that the Second Amendment protects "the right of law-abiding, responsible citizens" and that nothing “should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons[.]

In their formal opposition to Johnson's motion, federal prosecutors described his criminal background and the events that led to his arrest: His probation following his release from a 10-year sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm, came after a 2007 conviction on the same federal charge and a 2005 conviction in a Massachusetts state court for illegal gun possession. Around 9:35 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2022:

BPD officers responded to a 911 call at Brunswick Street in Boston, for a report of a black male wearing a black hoody pulling out a firearm during an argument in the street. Within a couple of minutes, BPD officers arrived on scene and observed an individual, later identified as the defendant, matching that description, outside of 51 Brunswick Street. As officers exited the vehicle, they immediately observed the defendant to be shocked by their presence, grab his waistband with his right hand and take off in a full sprint down Brunswick Street, with his sneakers falling off as he ran.

Officers pursued the defendant and observed him run into the front door of 55 Brunswick Street. Officers continued to follow the defendant into a first floor apartment. The defendant actively fought and resisted several police officers, who attempted to place him in handcuffs. During the struggle, an officer felt a hard metallic object on the defendant's right leg, consistent with the shape and size of a firearm. That officer was able to remove a silver and black firearm from the defendant's sweatpants, which was secured.

The firearm was identified as a Smith & Wesson, .40 caliber semi-automatic firearm, loaded with 10 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition in the magazine, and bearing serial number PBV4746. Based upon a review of the firearm and ammunition by a Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF"), it was confirmed that the firearm and ammunition all traveled in interstate or foreign commerce prior to their recovery in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on November 6, 2022.

Burroughs has yet to set a trial date.

Via Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Burroughs's ruling (222k PDF)
Johnson's request for dismissal (344k PDF)
Government opposition motion (258k PDF)