Javier Perez, a Mexican national, claimed in court that he has a right to keep and bear arms just as any United States citizen does thanks to the second amendment. But the thing is, he’s an illegal alien.
In 2016, Perez was charged with firing a weapon into the air to ward off a rival gang. Now, his lawyer is claiming that he was unlawfully charged because the founders never used the word “citizen” in the Bill of Rights as a qualifier for possessing a gun.
“The Framers were clear: If they meant citizens, they would have said citizens. But they didn’t,” his defense lawyer, Samuel Jacobson, argued. “There is no suggestion that there was a concept of ‘illegal alien’ and no suggestion that if you were from a foreign country, you couldn’t bear arms.”
While he is correct: the word “citizen” is not used in the second amendment, other lawyers have found his argument to be quite faulty.
"Those who don't have legal status here have an interest in defying law enforcement. They have an interest in not maintaining a stable residence or registering a firearm," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Hajjar.
If convicted, Perez could face up to 10 years in prison and deportation.
In addition to Perez, another illegal alien in Florida, Mohammed Al-Ghool, 50, was charged with firing a weapon in his workplace.
In Fort Lauderdale, Al-Ghool was working behind a cash register at a gas station when he got into an argument with a customer that resulted in him taking a gun and firing it into the ceiling above the man’s head.
On Thursday, Al-Ghool was found guilty of the crime by the court’s jury, despite the fact that he, like Perez, didn’t actually hurt anyone. But Al-Ghool’s attorney is holding onto a 2008 court case that said illegals aren’t necessarily disqualified from having gun rights.
Al-Ghool also is facing up to 10 years in prison and deportation, just like Perez. Al-Ghool’s sentencing will be on October 10 of this year.