Tenth Circuit Holds Indian Felons Lose Treaty Right to Carry Firearms

Here is the opinion in United States v. Fox. Fox is Navajo.

An excerpt:

Dionysius Fox, a member of the Navajo Nation, was arrested on the Navajo Reservation on an unrelated charge and found in possession of a shotgun and a rifle. Mr. Fox is a convicted felon, subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), which prohibits the possession of firearms by those previously adjudged guilty of felonies. Although he acknowledges that he is prohibited from possessing firearms beyond Navajo Reservation land, Mr. Fox asserts that he is entitled to possess guns for the limited purpose of hunting on the Navajo Reservation, pursuant to an 1868 Treaty between the United States and the Navajo Nation. We conclude, however, that Mr. Fox has relinquished any treaty right to use firearms for hunting purposes, and therefore affirm the judgment of the district court.

This case is interesting in part because another Tenth Circuit judge (see concurring opinion in U.S. v. McCane) raised a question about whether the Supreme Court’s recent Second Amendment decision D.C. v. Heller actually may make the federal statute in question in Fox unconstitutional.

Here are the briefs:

Fox Appellant Brief

US Appellee Brief

Fox Reply Brief