[IndyGunFreak]

Originally Posted by ICARRY2

They don't need to make ccw without a permit a felony. Just make possession by a prohibited possessor a felony (if it isn't already) with a minimum mandatory sentence of five years with a maximum of 20 years to be served consecutively with any other sentence.

That would certainly do it... the problem is though.. this would be feel good legislation (like most "get tough on crime" legislation). Yeah, they could charge them, then as the plea bargain process went along, the charge would be dropped from "illegal possession" to some other minor felony/misdemeanor, and the point would be lost...

Then, you give them a 5yr sentence, typically they serve anywhere from 25-65 percent of the sentence they were given. So by the time it's over, you've probably barely added 1-2yrs in their sentence. If you stack that on top of a 5-10yr sentence for armed robbery, it's point gets lost.

Then you go to the other end of the spectrum, you make minimum mandatory sentences, no plea bargains, "zero tolerance" type laws... Then you get people getting caught up in a mess when they had no intention of really doing anything wrong (ie, a girl being charged as a drug dealer at school, because she had tylenol in her purse).

I wish I had an easy answer.

IGF