MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal appeals court panel has ruled that people in the United States without permission have a constitutional right to carry guns but still can’t legally possess them.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a case involving Mariano Meza-Rodriguez, who was deported after police found a bullet in his pocket. Federal law prohibits people in the country without permission from possessing guns and ammunition.
His attorney appealed to the 7th Circuit. A three-judge panel ruled Thursday that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applies to people in the country without permission. But the panel said the federal government can restrict those rights and upheld Meza-Rodriguez’s conviction.
Meza-Rodriguez’s lawyer, Joseph Bugni, says the decision contradicts itself. He plans to ask the full 7th Circuit to consider the case.
