Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Convicted domestic offender won't get his guns back

Daniel Chovan allegedly lied on firearm application

A federal appeals court on Monday (November 18) upheld a law prohibiting individuals convicted of domestic violence from owning a gun unless the conviction is overturned.

As a result, a San Diego man will not be getting his guns back anytime soon.

Daniel Chovan was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence and sent to jail for beating his girlfriend in 1996, according to Courthouse News Service. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle notes that while gun possession is barred for most violent felons, the domestic violence charge, "the most common charge for physical assaults in the home," was later added.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Chovan caught the attention of the FBI in 2009, when he attempted to purchase a gun but failed to admit to his conviction on background-check paperwork. FBI agents searched Chovan's home in 2010 after videos surfaced of him, along with other men, firing rifles and conducting amateur "border patrols." Four guns and over 500 rounds of ammunition were seized as a result of the search.

Agents also discovered that in March of 2010, Chovan's estranged wife told police that he had "threatened to hunt her down and shoot her if she ever left him."

Despite the fresh accusations, Chovan's lawyers fought the constitutionality of the federal law, pointing out that under California laws he would have only lost the right of gun ownership for ten years.

A three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit of Appeals, however, became the fifth circuit to uphold the law, ruling that its enforcement was proper partially because "many people who engage in serious spousal or child abuse ultimately are not charged with or convicted of felonies," and that the ban was "related to the important government interest of preventing domestic gun violence."

The panel also refused to ignore the 2010 complaint against Chovan, which he had requested due to the fact that the police call did not result in his re-arrest. Judge Harry Pregerson, writing on behalf of the panel, noted that the law's application to Chovan was particularly prudent in light of the recent charges, since its enforcement was "substantially related to the goal of reducing domestic gun violence."

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

3 Tips for Creating a Cozy and Inviting Living Room in San Diego

Next Article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”

A federal appeals court on Monday (November 18) upheld a law prohibiting individuals convicted of domestic violence from owning a gun unless the conviction is overturned.

As a result, a San Diego man will not be getting his guns back anytime soon.

Daniel Chovan was convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence and sent to jail for beating his girlfriend in 1996, according to Courthouse News Service. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle notes that while gun possession is barred for most violent felons, the domestic violence charge, "the most common charge for physical assaults in the home," was later added.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Chovan caught the attention of the FBI in 2009, when he attempted to purchase a gun but failed to admit to his conviction on background-check paperwork. FBI agents searched Chovan's home in 2010 after videos surfaced of him, along with other men, firing rifles and conducting amateur "border patrols." Four guns and over 500 rounds of ammunition were seized as a result of the search.

Agents also discovered that in March of 2010, Chovan's estranged wife told police that he had "threatened to hunt her down and shoot her if she ever left him."

Despite the fresh accusations, Chovan's lawyers fought the constitutionality of the federal law, pointing out that under California laws he would have only lost the right of gun ownership for ten years.

A three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit of Appeals, however, became the fifth circuit to uphold the law, ruling that its enforcement was proper partially because "many people who engage in serious spousal or child abuse ultimately are not charged with or convicted of felonies," and that the ban was "related to the important government interest of preventing domestic gun violence."

The panel also refused to ignore the 2010 complaint against Chovan, which he had requested due to the fact that the police call did not result in his re-arrest. Judge Harry Pregerson, writing on behalf of the panel, noted that the law's application to Chovan was particularly prudent in light of the recent charges, since its enforcement was "substantially related to the goal of reducing domestic gun violence."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Houston ex-mayor donates to Toni Atkins governor fund

LGBT fights in common
Next Article

Big kited bluefin on the Red Rooster III

Lake fishing heating up as the weather cools
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader