A new bill would make it easier for convicted felons in Florida to have their voting and gun rights restored.
The bill, filed on Dec. 6 by State Rep. Cord Byrd, would allow judges to restore the rights of felons after they've completed prison sentences and probation.
Florida currently prohibits convicted felons from ever owning firearms or voting.
"Currently, the average wait time for Restoration of Rights is over 9 years, with some as long as 11 years," Byrd wrote in a Facebook post. "Over 22,000 applications are pending, with only a few hundred being processed each year. Clearly the system is broken."
Under the bill, people convicted of felonies would have to petition a county judge to have the rights restored.