We, the undersigned, call on Congress to fully repeal 18 U.S.C. § 931 and any equivalent state-level statutes that prohibit convicted felons from owning or purchasing body armor. This ban is unjust, illogical, and has no legitimate public safety justification.

Body armor cannot hurt anyone. It is entirely passive. It fires no bullet, swings no blade, and threatens no one. It exists for one purpose only: to protect the person wearing it from being killed or injured. Banning any person from owning it does not make communities safer — it only makes that person more vulnerable.

A felony conviction does not forfeit your right to survive. Once a person has served their sentence, they are considered to have paid their debt to society. Continuing to strip them of the ability to protect their own body is not justice — it is an indefinite punishment layered on top of the one already imposed by the courts. No judge sentences someone to "lifetime increased risk of death." This law does exactly that.

Formerly incarcerated people face elevated dangers. Reentry into society is difficult and often dangerous. Many returning citizens face threats from former associates, neighborhood violence, or individuals who wish them harm. Denying them body armor in these circumstances is not a neutral act — it is the government actively making it harder for them to stay alive.

There is no coherent logic to this prohibition. We allow felons to own cars, kitchen knives, baseball bats, and countless other items that can be weaponized. Body armor — which cannot be weaponized under any circumstances — is singled out for prohibition. The law is inconsistent and the inconsistency only makes sense if the goal is punishment, not safety.

This is not a gun rights argument. We are not asking for access to weapons. We are asking for the right to wear protection. The distinction could not be more clear. Conflating defensive equipment with offensive weapons is a deliberate mischaracterization that has no place in sound policymaking.

Self-defense is a fundamental human value. Across political lines, Americans broadly agree that people have a right to protect themselves. That principle should not disappear the moment someone has a felony on their record. The right to not be killed does not expire.

We call on legislators to repeal this ban in full — not reform it, not narrow it, but end it entirely. No person, regardless of their criminal history, should be legally prohibited from protecting their own body from harm. Sign below to demand that Congress act.