I guess I have to come down on the other side, here, as I think any convicted felon, of any age, (juveniles included) should lose his right to own a firearm forever. If I'm not mistaken, they also lose their right to vote forever. Why? Because they forfeited a group of their constitutional rights when they committed felonies. And many remain threats to society after release. I'd like to see that interpretation extend to ALL their Constitutional rights, including search and seizure, self-incrimination, etc.
I believe our crime problems, of all kinds, are caused in large part by criminals, and others seem to think they're caused by guns. The number of crimes committed by previously convicted felons is enormous, and when you get to really serious crimes (rape, murder, etc) the percentage gets even larger.
Some 50 million adult Americans choose to live out their lives without owning a firearm. If you commit any felony you have chosen voluntarily to join that group. And I include burglary, embezzlement, etc, non-violent crimes as well.
Now, the recent passage of this misdemeanor doodley is just that. If the crime is serious enough to require forfeiture of your right to own a firearm, then it is a felony. The "rationale" was that some such crimes (domestic abuse or whatever) were plea-bargained down to misdemeanors. Say what? If that's the problem, cease allowing that to happen. Setting a precedent which allows removal of a person's right to own a firearm for a misdemeanor leads right down the slippery slope to traffic tickets having the same result. "20 mph over? $500 fine and loss of your right to own a gun forever. Next case."
Larry P.