U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Law Banning Domestic Abusers From Owning Guns

A federal statute that criminalizes gun ownership by those subject to restraining orders stemming from domestic abuse was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday.

After a significant extension of gun rights in 2022, the court decided not to further expand them, giving President Joe Biden’s administration the upper hand in the decision.

A lower court’s decision to invalidate the 1994 statute because it violated the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms” guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution was overruled by an 8-1 majority led by conservative Chief Justice John Roberts.

A Texas man who had a restraining order against him for beating his fiancée in a parking lot and then threatening to shoot her filed a challenge to the statute.

The strict 2022 test set by the Supreme Court required gun laws to be “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation” to comply with the Second Amendment. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, located in New Orleans, concluded that the measure failed this test. In the decision, Mr. Roberts stated that gun control laws have targeted those who pose a physical threat to others since the country’s founding.

“When a restraining order contains a finding that an individual poses a credible threat to the physical safety of an intimate partner, that individual may – consistent with the Second Amendment – be banned from possessing firearms while the order is in effect,” Roberts wrote.

The administration of Mr. Biden maintained that the law was necessary to safeguard public safety and victims of abuse, many of whom were women. It was emphasized that firearms not only present a grave risk to responding law enforcement authorities but also offer a major threat in cases of domestic violence.

“No one who has been abused should have to worry about their abuser getting a gun,” Mr Biden said, touting his record on gun control.

“As a result of (Friday’s) ruling, survivors of domestic violence and their families will still be able to count on critical protections, just as they have for the past three decades.”

Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter who authored the 2022 ruling in a case called New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.

“Not a single historical regulation justifies the statute at issue,” Mr Thomas wrote.

He added, “In the interest of ensuring the government can regulate one subset of society, (Friday’s) decision puts at risk the Second Amendment rights of many more.”

The case involved Zackey Rahimi, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to illegally possessing guns in violation of this law while subject to a restraining order.

Police found a pistol and rifle while searching Mr Rahimi’s residence in connection with at least five shootings, including using an assault-type rifle to fire at the home of a man to whom he had sold drugs.

A federal judge had rejected Mr Rahimi’s Second Amendment challenge and sentenced him to more than six years in prison. Violating the domestic violence gun law initially was punishable by up to 10 years in prison but has since been raised to 15 years.

Gun safety groups called Friday’s ruling a legal victory that will help counter firearms violence. But they condemned actions by the 5th Circuit, perhaps the most conservative federal appeals court, that let the case get this far.
“As millions of domestic violence victims breathe a sigh of relief, it’s worth remembering who put them in jeopardy: extreme Trump-appointed judges on the 5th Circuit who sided with an abuser who wanted to keep his guns,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, referring to Republican former President Donald Trump.

Mr Rahimi’s lawyer declined to comment on the ruling.

Supporters of Mr. Rahimi have argued that judges too easily issue restraining orders in an unfair process that results in the deprivation of the constitutional gun rights of accused abusers.