"Convicted Felon?"

"What part of prison do you miss? Put down the gun."

This huge billboard greets me each day when I exit the freeway on the way to church. The US Attorney General's office sponsors it.

Now, there's nothing particularly unreasonable about reminding convicted felons to stay away from guns. It's part of their conditions for continued freedom. However, something's been bugging me about this sign since I first saw it. It just took me a while to figure out what it was: the implication that someone who's a convicted felon would automatically continue on a criminal path.

The way the billboard is worded sounds to me as if a police officer is telling a criminal during the commission of a crime to "put down the weapon". And, I guess, technically, a convicted felon (as opposed to an unconvicted felon?) in posession of a gun is committing a crime. Yet the image that popped into my head as I read the billboard is of some character brandishing a revolver while robbing a convenience store. Robbing the store would, of course, put the felon back in prison anyway, but not every convicted felon returns to society to turn around and commit another crime.

Those who are released from prison after completing their sentence have a difficult enough time returning to productive and legal integration to society without having everyone and their uncles and aunts be reminded of their status every time they drive past that sign. Recidivism can be a real possibility because of the difficulty in acquiring and keeping employment, overcoming the suspicion that someone once convicted will again commit crimes, finding a place to live, continuing to rehabilitate one's life while 'on the outside', avoiding getting tangled up with the people and lifestyle that contributed to the original criminal activity, etc.

I guess there's a part of me that's wondering why the US Attorney General's office decided it was necessary to spend money on putting up the billboard. Are there really that many convicted felons running around with guns? Well, it IS Texas, after all, so maybe there are, what with our 'concealed carry' laws. Perhaps they think they can get away with it. *sigh* But do you really think that a billboard is going to change that behavior?

Obviously, I've noticed the sign and it's provoked me enough to post this. But in general billboards don't have much impact on my behavior. I don't buy something because I see it advertised on a billboard. Occasionally I'll learn about an event I want to attend on a billboard; although, I usually learn that information through the newspaper or perhaps actually listening to the tv. I wonder how many of the signs we've paid for throughout the country, and was there any particular reason that Beaumont was chosen for one?

Oh, well! Just a momentary peccadillo. Maybe now I've gotten it out of my system and I can go back to ignoring billboards again! *chuckle*