It is an automatic 5 year sentence in a Federal Penitentiary for a person to possess a firearm while they have a protective order in place against them. A significant number of respondents (disproportionately men) have had their rights under the U.S. Constitution's 1st and 2nd Amendments trampled on by "protective orders" that have been in place for 5 years, 10 years, or even longer. The vast majority of states allow for an automatic cut-off after a year or 3 years. Utah's law unconstitutionally allows protective orders to continue INDEFINITELY. Should a Petitioner believe s/he still needs a protective order beyond 1 or even 3 years, they should be required to apply to the court for a new protective order (before or after the EXPIRATION of the original protective order). This is the ONLY way to be fair to the Respondent.
The Respondent can suffer the loss of his/her firearm for the 1-3 years due to his/her actions towards the Petitioner. However, indefinitely preventing a Respondent from being able to defend him/herself or work in a field of choice which requires a firearm is entirely unconstitutional.
The undersigned agree and wish that you would take action to make a positive change in this matter at once. Thank you.
To sign the petition
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