Breaking News: Was Pittsburgh gunman ineligible to possess firearms?
Today in Pittsburgh, a severely disturbed individual named Richard Poplawski took the lives of three police officers. Almost immediately, the media reports have focused on the gunman’s use of a “high powered” rifle and his fear that the Obama Administration was going to take away his gun rights. But wait … the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that Poplawski was given a dishonorable discharge from the Marine Corp. If this is true, then his concerns about the Obama Administration’s gun control plans were moot because he had already lost his right to purchase or possess firearms. U.S. Code Title 18 § 922(g) prohibits anyone with a dishonorable discharge from possessing or purchasing firearms. This reporter is attempting to verify if Poplawski was actually dishonorably discharged. There is often confusion between a dishonorable discharge and a discharge under less than honorable conditions. But the differences in terms of consequences is significant. A dishonorable discharge is given only w
