1

 The Honorable Michael J. Melloy, United States District Court for the

Northern District of Iowa.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 01-1153

___________

United States of America, *

*

 Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* Western District of Missouri.

Benito Ramirez-Rios, *

*

 Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: September 12, 2001

Filed: November 5, 2001

___________

Before BOWMAN, HEANEY and BYE, Circuit Judges.

___________

HEANEY, Circuit Judge.

Appellant Benito Ramirez-Rios pled guilty to being a felon in possession of

firearms and ammunition and was sentenced to eighteen months by the district court.1

He appeals the sentence, claiming that the court erred in denying a sentencing

reduction under the “sporting purposes” provision of U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(2) (2000).

We affirm. 
2

The court also found that Mr. Ramirez-Rios did not wear blaze orange when

he went deer hunting, but the court did not place very much weight on that factor.

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I. Background 

Ramirez-Rios is a resident of Tama County, Iowa and has a previous 1995

felony conviction. On May 16, 2000, an Iowa state court judge signed a search

warrant authorizing law enforcement personnel to search for weapons at the RamirezRios residence. The police discovered three guns in the home: a .22 caliber handgun,

a .22 caliber rifle, and a 12-gauge shotgun. The police also found fifteen 20-gauge

shotgun shells, three boxes of 12-gauge shotgun shells (deer slugs) and three boxes

of .22 caliber ammunition. Ramirez-Rios was arrested by federal authorities, and on

October 6, 2000, he pled guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and

ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). At the plea

hearing, he explained that his wife bought the .22 caliber handgun for personal

protection and the .22 caliber rifle for hunting. He also admitted that he used the 12-

gauge shotgun to hunt deer. 

At his sentencing hearing on January 2, 2001, Ramirez-Rios argued that the

court should decrease his base offense level under the “sporting purposes” provision

in U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(2). That provision states: “If the defendant . . . possessed all

ammunition and firearms solely for lawful sporting purposes or collection, and did

not unlawfully discharge or otherwise unlawfully use such firearms or ammunition,

decrease the offense level determined above to level 6.” The district court held that

the § 2K2.1(b)(2) reduction did not apply for two reasons. First, Ramirez-Rios's

hunting was not lawful; the court found that Ramirez-Rios did not have a required

deer hunting tag, even though he did have a general hunting license.2

 Second, the

court found that the exception did not apply because the .22 caliber handgun was held

for protection purposes, not for a lawful sporting purpose. After making these
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findings, the court sentenced Ramirez-Rios to eighteen months imprisonment, two to

three years supervised release, and a special assessment of $200.

II. Discussion

We review interpretations of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo, see United

States v. Waggoner, 103 F.3d 724, 726 (8th Cir. 1997), and the district court's

findings of fact under the clearly erroneous standard. See United States v. Kissinger,

986 F.2d 1244, 1245 (8th Cir. 1993). The defendant has the burden of proving that

a reduction in the offense level should apply. See United States v. Dinges, 917 F.2d

1133, 1135 (8th Cir. 1990). 

Section 2K2.1(b)(2) of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines requires courts to

reduce the base offense level of a sentence for being a felon in possession if the

defendant possessed all of the weapons for a lawful sporting purpose. U.S.S.G. §

2K2.1(b)(2). In determining whether § 2K2.1(b)(2) applies, the focus of the inquiry

is the “intended lawful use” as determined by the surrounding circumstances.

Waggoner, 103 F.3d at 726 (citation omitted). The relevant circumstances include

“the number of and type of firearms, the amount and type of ammunition, the location

and circumstances of possession and actual use, the nature of defendant's criminal

history, . . . and the extent to which the possession was restricted by local law.”

U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(2), comment. (n.10) (2000). 

We begin by considering the second basis for the district court's holding – that

the sentencing reduction does not apply because Ramirez-Rios possessed the handgun

for protection purposes. Ramirez-Rios argues that because his wife bought the .22

caliber handgun for her protection and because he had no intention of using the

handgun, it should not preclude application of the § 2K2.1(b)(2) reduction. We

disagree. Ramirez-Rios pled guilty to possession of the handgun. In considering
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whether the § 2K2.1(b)(2) reduction should apply, we cannot overlook the purpose

for which he possessed the gun. If his wife had a sporting or collection purpose for

owning the gun, we could attribute that purpose to Ramirez-Rios, and he might be

eligible for the sentencing reduction. See United States v. Moit, 100 F.3d 605, 606

(8th Cir. 1996) (“We reject the government's argument that one who possesses a gun

collection owned by another can never receive a section 2K2.1(b)(2) decrease.”);

United States v. Mojica, 214 F.3d 1169, 1172-73 (10th Cir. 2000)(“[I]t is also

reasonable to interpret [§ 2K2.1(b)(2)] as [applying to a defendant's] benign

possession of a firearm used solely for another's sporting or collection purposes”).

Here, however, Ramirez-Rios's wife bought and kept the gun for protection purposes.

A defendant who possesses a handgun for personal protection is not entitled

to a § 2K2.1(b)(2) reduction. See Kissinger, 986 F.2d at 1246; United States v.

Gresso, 24 F.3d 879, 881-82 (7th Cir. 1994). The plain language of § 2K2.1(b)(2)

states that the provision only applies “if the defendant . . . possessed all ammunition

and firearms solely for lawful sporting purposes or collection.” U.S.S.G. §

2K2.1(b)(2) (emphasis added). Ramirez-Rios admitted that the .22 caliber handgun

was kept for protection purposes, so the § 2K2.1(b)(2) sentencing reduction does not

apply. 

The fact that Ramirez-Rios possessed a gun for protection purposes precludes

application of § 2K2.1(b)(2)'s sentencing reduction; therefore, we need not consider

the other basis for the district court's holding. 

Accordingly, we affirm.

A true copy.

Attest:

CLERK, U. S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.