Four cases decided by this Court provide the focus for petitioner's attack upon his conviction. The first, and pivotal one, is Gideon v. Wainwright, supra, where the Court held that a state felony conviction without counsel, and without a valid waiver of counsel, was unconstitutional under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. That ruling is fully retroactive. Kitchens v. Smith, 401 U. S. 847 (1971).

U. S. 964 (1979) (underlying conviction in a prosecution under 18 U. S. C. § 922 (h) (1) may not be challenged on nonconstitutional grounds).

The identical issue that is presented in this case has also arisen in the context of challenges to convictions under 18 U. S. C. § 922 (g) (1) (proscribing shipping or transport of a firearm in interstate or foreign commerce by a person under indictment for, or convicted of, a felony) and § 922 (h) (1) (proscribing receipt of a firearm shipped in interstate or foreign commerce by such a person). Compare United States v. Scales, 599 F. 2d 78 (CA5 1979); Dameron v. United States, 488 F. 2d 724 (CA5 1974); Pasterchik v. United States, 466 F. 2d 1367 (CA9 1972); and United States v. DuShane, 435 F. 2d 187 (CA2 1970) (underlying conviction may be attacked as unconstitutional), with Barker v. United States, 579 F.2d 1219, 1226 (CA10 1978) (underlying conviction may not be so challenged in prosecution under § 922 (h) (1)).

The Courts of Appeals have treated the issue somewhat differently in prosecutions under 18 U. S. C. § 922 (a) (6) (prohibiting the falsification of one's status as a convicted felon in purchasing a firearm). Nonuniformity has prevailed nonetheless on the question whether a defendant charged with violating that statute may challenge the constitutionality of the underlying felony conviction. Compare United States v. O'Neal, supra, and United States v. Pricepaul, supra (permitting the challenge), with United States v. Allen, 556 F. 2d 720 (CA4 1977); United States v. Graves, supra; and Cassity v. United States, 521 F. 2d 1320 (CA6 1975) (holding that the challenge may not be made). The Eighth Circuit has stated that it will not permit a challenge to the constitutionality of the underlying conviction where the defendant is charged under § 922 (a) (6), while reserving the question under § 1202 (a) (1) and §§ 922 (g) (1) and (h)(1). United States v. Edwards, 568 F. 2d 68, 70–72, and n. 3 (1977). See also United States v. Graves, 554 F. 2d, at 83-88 (Garth, J., and Seitz, C. J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (the Government need not prove the validity of the underlying conviction in a prosecution brought under § 922 (a) (6), but it must do so in a prosecution under § 1202 (a)(1)).

The second case is Burgett v. Teras, 389 U. S. 109 (1967). There the Court held that a conviction invalid under Gideon could not be used for enhancement of punishment under a State's recidivist statute. The third is United States v. Tucker, 404 U. S. 443 (1972), where it was held that such a conviction could not be considered by a court in sentencing a defendant after a subsequent conviction. And the fourth is Loper v. Beto, 405 U. S. 473 (1972), where the Court disallowed the use of the conviction to impeach the general credibility of the defendant. The prior conviction, the plurality opinion said, “lacked reliability." Id., at 484, quoting Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U. S. 618, 639, and n. 20 (1965).

We, of course, accept these rulings for purposes of the present case. Petitioner's position, however, is that the four cases require a reversal of his conviction under § 1202 (a)(1) on both statutory and constitutional grounds.

III

The Court has stated repeatedly of late that in any case concerning the interpretation of a statute the "starting point" must be the language of the statute itself. Reiter v. Sonotone Corp., 442 U. S. 330, 337 (1979). See also Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington, 442 U. S. 560, 568 (1979); Southeastern Community College v. Davis, 442 U. S. 397, 405 (1979). An examination of § 1202 (a)(1) reveals that its proscription is directed unambiguously at any person who "has been convicted by a court of the United States or of a State... of a felony." No modifier is present, and nothing suggests any restriction on the scope of the term "convicted." "Nothing on the face of the statute suggests a congressional intent to limit its coverage to persons [whose convictions are not subject to collateral attack]." United States v. Culbert, 435 U. S. 371, 373 (1978); see United States v. Naftalin, 441 U. S. 768, 772 (1979). The statutory language is sweeping, and its plain meaning is that the fact of a felony conviction imposes a firearm disability until the conviction is vacated or the felon is

relieved of his disability by some affirmative action, such as a qualifying pardon or a consent from the Secretary of the Treasury. The obvious breadth of the language may well reflect the expansive legislative approach revealed by Congress' express findings and declarations, in 18 U. S. C. App. § 1201, concerning the problem of firearm abuse by felons and certain specifically described persons.

Other provisions of the statute demonstrate and reinforce its broad sweep. Section 1203 enumerates exceptions to

5

One might argue, of course, that the language is so sweeping that it includes in its proscription even a person whose predicate conviction in the interim had been finally reversed on appeal and thus no longer was outstanding. The Government, however, does not go so far, Tr. of Oral Arg. 29-30, 37-40, and though we have no need to pursue that extreme argument in this case, we reject it. We are not persuaded that the mere possibility of making that argument renders the statute, as petitioner suggests, unconstitutionally vague. And unlike the dissent, post, at 69, we view the language Congress chose as consistent with the common-sense notion that a disability based upon one's status as a convicted felon should cease only when the conviction upon which that status depends has been vacated.

We note, nonetheless, that the disability effected by § 1202 (a) (1) would apply while a felony conviction was pending on appeal. See Note, Prior Convictions and the Gun Control Act of 1968, 76 Colum. L. Rev. 326, 334, and n. 42 (1976).

"The Congress hereby finds and declares that the receipt, possession, or transportation of a firearm by felons, veterans who are discharged under dishonorable conditions, mental incompetents, aliens who are illegally in the country, and former citizens who have renounced their citizenship, constitutes-.

"(1) a burden on commerce or threat affecting the free flow of commerce, "(2) a threat to the safety of the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States,

"(3) an impediment or a threat to the exercise of free speech and the free exercise of a religion guaranteed by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and

"(4) a threat to the continued and effective operation of the Government of the United States and of the government of each State guaranteed by article IV of the Constitution."

Opinion of the Court

445 U.S. § 1202 (a)(1) (a prison inmate who by reason of his duties has expressly been entrusted with a firearm by prison authority; a person who has been pardoned and who has expressly been authorized to receive, possess, or transport a firearm). In addition, § 1202 (c) (2) defines "felony" to exclude certain state crimes punishable by no more than two years' imprisonment. No exception, however, is made for a person whose outstanding felony conviction ultimately might turn out to be invalid for any reason. On its face, therefore, § 1202 (a) (1) contains nothing by way of restrictive language. It thus stands in contrast with other federal statutes that explicitly permit a defendant to challenge, by way of defense, the validity or constitutionality of the predicate felony. See, e. g., 18 U.S. C. § 3575 (e) (dangerous special offender) and 21 U. S. C. § 851 (c) (2) (recidivism under the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970).

When we turn to the legislative history of § 1202 (a)(1), we find nothing to suggest that Congress was willing to allow a defendant to question the validity of his prior conviction as a defense to a charge under § 1202 (a)(1). The section was enacted as part of Title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Acts of 1968, 82 Stat. 236. It was added by way of a floor amendment to the Act and thus was not a subject of discussion in the legislative reports. See United States v. Batchelder, 442 U. S. 114, 120 (1979); Scarborough v. United States, 431 U. S. 563, 569-570 (1977); United States v. Bass, 404 U. S. 336, 344, and n. 11 (1971). What little legislative history there is that is relevant reflects an intent to impose a firearms disability on any felon based on the fact of conviction. Senator Long, who introduced and directed the passage of Title VII, repeatedly stressed conviction, not a "valid" conviction, and not a conviction not subject to constitutional challenge, as the criterion. For example, the Senator observed:

"So, under Title VII, every citizen could possess a gun

until the commission of his first felony. Upon his conviction, however, Title VII would deny every assassin, murderer, thief and burglar of the right to possess a firearm in the future except where he has been pardoned by the President or a State Governor and had been expressedly authorized by his pardon to possess a firearm." 114 Cong. Rec. 14773 (1968).

See also id., at 13868, 14774. Inasmuch as Senator Long was the sponsor and floor manager of the bill, his statements are entitled to weight. Simpson v. United States, 435 U. S. 6, 13 (1978).

It is not without significance, furthermore, that Title VII, as well as Title IV of the Omnibus Act, was enacted in response to the precipitous rise in political assassinations, riots, and other violent crimes involving firearms, that occurred in this country in the 1960's. See, e. g., S. Rep. No. 1097, 90th Cong., 2d Sess., 76-78 (1968); H. R. Rep. No. 1577, 90th Cong., 2d Sess., 7 (1968); S. Rep. No. 1501, 90th Cong., 2d Sess., 22-23 (1968). This Court, accordingly, has observed:

"The legislative history [of Title VII] in its entirety, while brief, further supports the view that Congress sought to rule broadly-to keep guns out of the hands of those who have demonstrated that 'they may not be trusted to possess a firearm without becoming a threat to society.' Scarborough v. United States, 431 U. S., at 572.

The legislative history, therefore, affords no basis for a loophole, by way of a collateral constitutional challenge, to the broad statutory scheme enacted by Congress. Section 1202 (a) was a sweeping prophylaxis, in simple terms, against misuse of firearms. There is no indication of any intent to require the Government to prove the validity of the predicate conviction.

The very structure of the Omnibus Act's Title IV, enacted