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524US2

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310

CARON v. UNITED STATES

Opinion of the Court

complex, but the phrase as quoted presents the issue for
our decision.

The parties, reﬂecting a similar division among various
Courts of Appeals, disagree over the interpretation of the
unless clause in the following circumstance. What if the
State restoring the offender’s rights forbids possession of
some ﬁrearms, say pistols, but not others, say riﬂes?
In one
sense, he “may not . . . possess . . . ﬁrearms” under the un-
less clause because the ban on speciﬁed weapons is a ban on
“ﬁrearms.”
In another sense, he can possess ﬁrearms under
the unless clause because the state ban is not absolute.
Compare, e. g., United States v. Estrella, 104 F. 3d 3, 8
(CA1) (adopting former reading), cert. denied, 521 U. S. 1110
(1997), and United States v. Driscoll, 970 F. 2d 1472, 1480–
1481 (CA6 1992) (same), cert. denied, 506 U. S. 1083 (1993),
with United States v. Qualls, 140 F. 3d 824, 826 (CA9 1998)
(en banc) (intermediate position), and United States v. Shoe-
maker, 2 F. 3d 53, 55–56 (CA4 1993) (same), cert. denied, 510
U. S. 1047 (1994).

The Government contends the class of criminals who “may
not . . . possess . . . ﬁrearms” includes those forbidden to
have some guns but not others. On this reading, the resto-
ration of rights is of no effect here, the previous offenses
are chargeable, and petitioner’s sentence must be en-
hanced. On appeal, the Government’s position prevailed in
the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and we now afﬁrm
its judgment.

I

including felonies.

Petitioner Gerald Caron has an extensive criminal rec-
ord,
In Massachusetts state court, he
was convicted in 1958 of attempted breaking and entering
at night and, in 1959 and 1963, of breaking and entering at
night.
In California state court, he was convicted in 1970 of
assault with intent to commit murder and attempted murder.
In July 1993, petitioner walked into the home of Walter
Miller, carrying a semiautomatic riﬂe. He threatened Miller,