KY Court of Appeals reverses judge’s ruling that allowed felons to have guns
A Kentucky law that bans people convicted of felonies from carrying firearms will remain on the books, the state Court of Appeals ruled.
In a 58-page decision announced Oct. 3, the Kentucky court reversed a trial court’s opinion that said a convicted felon could not be prosecuted for firearms charges because it violates their Constitutional rights.
The question arose when Jecory Lamont Fraizer, 41, requested his felon-in-possession in charge be dismissed by a Jefferson County judge in October 2023, saying Kentucky’s law violated his Second Amendment right.
Frazier cited a three-year-old United States Supreme Court case precedent made in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. That ruling struck down New York’s strict handgun licensing law which required a “proper cause” to carry a handgun in public, giving individuals the right to carry a loaded handgun in public for self-defense.
The case allowed states further protection for gun ownership, as long as they are consistent with federal regulations.
The Jefferson County trial court judge agreed with Fraizer, and dismissed his indictment in March 2024.
But the state court of appeals said the judge erred in her historical analysis, and that Congress has a right to “disarm those that it deems dangerous.”
The appellate court said historical analysis has always maintained that “convicted felons were not among the people to whom the right to bear arms in the Kentucky Constitution applied.”
Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerina D. Whethers said there is a difference between having law-abiding citizens exercise their constitutional rights and enabling “the most dangerous of criminals to run the streets armed.”
“We respect that the Court of Appeals also recognizes this distinction,” Whethers said.
The court of appeals ordered that Frazier’s charges be reinstated.
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 1:47 PM.
