People v. King

CLARK, J., Dissenting.

The majority hold that an ex-felon may possess a concealable firearm in the course of defending himself. The majority thus legislate an exception to Penal Code section 12021. They argue that since the statutory right of self-defense existed when section 12021 was adopted, we must presume the Legislature did not intend to deny ex-felons the “right” to resort to concealable firearms for self-defense. But this argument seeks to prove too much. It suggests, for example, that an ex-felon may lawfully possess a machine gun in the course of defending himself, for the statute…