Have you ever noticed how often, when an arrest is made, one of the charges is “Possession of a firearm by a felon?” The front page headline story of the Friday Griffin Daily News is the latest example that caught my eye.

I have two questions. One, where did the felon get the gun. It is totally illegal for a felon to buy or possess a firearm. So how did they get around the much heralded “Brady Law” that is a pain for law abiding gun owners but a law those that can not legally possess a gun easily sidestep.

Are there any studies of these felons getting guns? Folks that like to get more laws passed about things they fear or don’t like call for extending the Brady Law. How much sense does it make to extend a law that is not working?

Two, what is done to these felons possessing a firearm? Are their sentences of jail time extended? Is there any additional punishment for breaking the firearm law while they are breaking other laws? If not, why not? It is my understanding the charges of possession of a firearm by a felon are often dropped or bartered away in pretrial negotiations.

So why have a law that is useless? Even less sensible is passing the laundry list of additional gun laws the gun banners hope for, since the ones on the books already are not being prosecuted, enforced or doing any good stopping bad guys from getting guns.