Analysis of the character of the Second Amendment right has recently burgeoned. It thus allows the states to arm police officers convicted of violent felonies, and even crimes of domestic violence so long as those crimes are felonies, while withholding this privilege with respect to domestic violence misdemeanors. No reason is offered for imposing the heavier disability on the lighter offense. The government's brief argues that a special focus on domestic violence as compared to other misdemeanors is rational, and we agree. A conceivable justification comes to mind.
Most states appear to bar convicted felons from possessing guns.
See, e.g., Cal. North Carolina Stat. The problem is that the states' laws are neither sufficiently consistent, nor sufficiently severe, to make this a rational approach. New Hampshire, for example, requires three felonies for the prohibition to attach. See N.H. Stat.