11th Circuit Keeps Felon-In-Possession Gun Ban Alive, Upholds 105-Month Sentence in Bruen Fallout

**11th Circuit Bolsters Felon Gun Ban Amid Bruen Fallout**

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a felon’s 105-month prison sentence for illegal firearm possession, rejecting a Second Amendment challenge under Supreme Court precedents like Bruen and Rahimi. This non-precedential ruling reinforces 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), locking in binding circuit precedent that felons can’t wield guns—signaling federal courts’ reluctance to unravel longstanding disarmament laws despite gun rights expansions.

Domestic violence reports led Alabama cops to Randall Broaden’s home in March 2023, uncovering a pistol, ammo, a bat, and weed after his ex detailed brutal assaults including pistol-whipping and near-strangulation. A federal grand jury indicted him under § 922(g)(1) for felon-in-possession. Broaden moved to dismiss, claiming Bruen gutted the law’s constitutionality; a magistrate judge shot it down citing 11th Circuit precedent in Rozier (2010), adopted by the district court. He pled guilty unconditionally, got hit with a guidelines range of 63-78 months after adjustments, but the judge varied upward to 105 months citing his “horrendous” rap sheet of 33 convictions including repeated woman-beating. Broaden appealed both conviction and sentence; the appeals court affirmed, deeming no plain error in denying dismissal or sentencing.

In plain terms: Courts aren’t budging—§ 922(g)(1) survives Second Amendment scrutiny because SCOTUS nods to “presumptively lawful” felon bans in Heller and Rahimi, leaving lower courts handcuffed by precedent until the Supremes intervene. The sentence stuck because judges can hike punishment for extreme criminal histories if the record screams justification, even briefly explained.

Zero direct crypto ripple here—this is pure gun law upholding federal overreach on individual rights, but it spotlights SEC-style regulatory entrenchment. Agencies like the SEC wield “presumptively lawful” authority over securities classification, much like ATF does felon disarms; expect courts to mirror this deference, chilling challenges to Howey-test token grabs or exchange crackdowns. DeFi builders and traders face amplified risk if decentralization arguments flop like Broaden’s “as-applied” plea—regulators win on history and “danger,” boosting CFTC/SEC turf while stablecoins dodge commodity pivots. Sentiment dips for rights absolutists, but opportunity glints for compliant platforms hedging bets on status quo enforcement.

Federal precedent hardens before it bends—crypto rebels, lawyer up or decentralize deeper.