From Edenfield v. State, decided Wednesday, in an opinion by Judge Bilbrey and joined by Judge Winokur, with Judge Long concurring in the result (for more on the Range case, see here):
We deny Appellant's amended motion for rehearing, rehearing en banc, and to certify a question of great public importance. We write to explain why we will not apply the reasoning in a federal appeals court decision, decided after our opinion affirming Appellant's conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, to Appellant.
Appellant argues that we should rely on Range v. Attorney General (3d Cir. 2023) (en banc), to grant rehearing. Range was convicted of "one count of making a false statement to obtain food stamps in violation of Pennsylvania law." This offense was a misdemeanor, but because Range faced a potential term of imprisonment exceeding one year, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law.
Range brought a challenge to section 922(g)(1) in federal court claiming that the law "violates the Second Amendment as applied to him." The Third Circuit agreed with Range. It held that the "law-abiding, responsible citizens" language from District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), was dicta. It also held that the Government failed in its burden to "show that § 922(g)(1), as applied to him, 'is part of the historical tradition that delimits the outer bounds of the right to keep and bear arms.'"
The holding in Range notwithstanding, we will continue to apply the "law-abiding, responsible citizens" language from Heller in upholding the constitutionality of the crime of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. As the court in United States v. Rozier (11th Cir. 2010), explained there are two reasons to apply the "law-abiding, responsible citizens" language:
