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United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT

Argued October 10, 2012 Decided January 11, 2013No. 11-5352 J

EFFERSON

W

AYNE

S

CHRADER AND

S

ECOND

A

MENDMENT

F

OUNDATION

,

I

NC

.,A

PPELLANTS

v.E

RIC

H.

H

OLDER

,

J

R

.,

ET AL

.,A

PPELLEES

Appeal from the United States District Courtfor the District of Columbia(No. 1:10-cv-01736)

Alan Gura

argued the cause for appellants. With him onthe briefs was

Thomas M. Huff

.

Anisha S. Dasgupta

, Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, argued the cause for appellees. With her on the brief were

Stuart F. Delery

, Acting Assistant Attorney General,

Ronald C. Machen, Jr

., U.S. Attorney,

Michael S. Raab

,Attorney, and

Jane

M. Lyons

and

R. Craig Lawrence

,Assistant U.S. Attorneys.Before: T

ATEL

,

Circuit Judge

, and W

ILLIAMS

andR

ANDOLPH

,

Senior Circuit Judges

.

USCA Case #11-5352 Document #1414648 Filed: 01/11/2013 Page 1 of 21

2Opinion for the Court filed by

Circuit Judge

T

ATEL

. T

ATEL

,

Circuit Judge

: Due to a conviction some fortyyears ago for common-law misdemeanor assault and batteryfor which he served no jail time, plaintiff Jefferson WayneSchrader, now a sixty-four-year-old veteran, is, by virtue of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), barred for life from ever possessing afirearm. Together with the Second Amendment Foundation,Schrader contends that section 922(g)(1) is inapplicable tocommon-law misdemeanants as a class and, alternatively, thatapplication of the statute to this class of individuals violatesthe Second Amendment. Because we find plaintiffs’ statutoryargument unpersuasive and see no constitutional infirmity inapplying section 922(g)(1) to common-law misdemeanants,we affirm the district court’s dismissal of the complaint.

I.

Enacted in its current form in 1968, section 922(g)(1) of Title 18 of the United States Code prohibits firearmpossession by persons convicted of “a crime punishable byimprisonment for a term exceeding one year.” 18 U.S.C.§ 922(g)(1). Section 921(a)(20)(B), however, exempts “anyState offense classified by the laws of the State as amisdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less.” 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20)(B). This caseconcerns the application of these provisions to convictions forcommon-law misdemeanors that carry no statutory maximumterm of imprisonment.Section 922(g)(1)’s prohibition on firearm possessionapplies, with some exceptions not relevant here, for life. Thestatute, however, contains a “safety valve” that permitsindividuals to apply to the Attorney General for restoration of their firearms rights.

Logan v. United States

, 552 U.S. 23, 28n.1 (2007). Specifically, section 925(c) provides that the

USCA Case #11-5352 Document #1414648 Filed: 01/11/2013 Page 2 of 21

3Attorney General may grant such individuals relief “if it isestablished to his satisfaction that the circumstances regardingthe disability, and the applicant’s record and reputation, aresuch that the applicant will not be likely to act in a mannerdangerous to public safety and that the granting of the relief would not be contrary to the public interest.” 18 U.S.C.§ 925(c). But since 1992, “Congress has repeatedly barred theAttorney General from using appropriated funds to investigateor act upon relief applications,” leaving the provision“inoperative.”

Logan

, 552 U.S. at 28 n.1 (internal quotationmarks and alterations omitted);