State Senator Mark Patterson’s opposition to the federal government has more to do with his personal views than it does with his political views.

During his failed push to make it illegal for state officials to enforce federal gun laws, Patterson didn’t reveal his criminal past. 

According to the Idaho Statesman, the state of Florida charged Patterson with forcible rape in 1974.

The Idaho Statesman reported that Patterson was allowed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of assault with the intent to rape. 

The lesser charge is punishable by more than a year in prison. However, Patterson received five years of probation and a withheld judgment. 

But three years later, the state of Ohio charged Patterson with rape.  He was found not guilty. Both cases became an issue after the Ada County Sheriff Department denied Patterson a concealed weapons permit due to his failure to reveal the guilty plea in the 1974 case.

Patterson told the Idaho Statesman that six months of chemotherapy, in 2001, for the Hepatitis C virus had wiped out his memory.

However, he used his “loss” memory to answer questions about the details of the 1977 rape case. 

The Idaho Statesman quoted Patterson as saying, “…I’m not a convicted criminal. I can go to a gun store and fill out the form and the FBI gives me a gun right now.”

Unfortunately for Patterson, his guilty plea to assault with intent makes him a convicted criminal. 

It’s true that Idaho state law allows state officials, like Patterson, to keep their gun permits. However, federal law doesn’t.

Federal law states that it’s illegal for a person to own a gun if he’s been convicted of a crime that will result in him serving more than a year in prison. 

And based on federal law, it’s illegal for Patterson to own a gun.