Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Domestic Abusers Owning Guns

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has upheld a law that prohibits individuals with domestic violence restraining orders from owning firearms. This ruling, which came in the case of U.S. v. Rahimi, is significant as it indicates the Court’s willingness to uphold certain restrictions on firearms ownership, despite a 2022 ruling that expanded gun rights. The decision, with an 8-1 majority, underscores the Court’s stance that Americans can be temporarily disarmed under the Second Amendment if they are deemed by a court to pose a credible threat to another’s physical safety.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, highlighted that historical firearm regulations in the U.S. have included measures to prevent individuals who threaten physical harm from misusing firearms. This aligns with the Court’s interpretation that the ban on domestic abusers possessing firearms is consistent with historical tradition, as required by the Bruen ruling. However, Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, arguing that the statute lacked sufficient historical justification.

The case of U.S. v. Rahimi is part of a broader context in which the Supreme Court has considered several gun-related cases. For example, the Court recently weighed in on the legality of bump stocks in the case Garland v. Cargill, where a federal ban on these devices was struck down. Additionally, the Court heard a case involving the National Rifle Association (NRA), which questioned the legality of New York’s Department of Financial Services urging companies to sever ties with the NRA.

The impact of the Bruen ruling has been substantial, with more than a dozen state and federal laws invalidated in court as a result. This decision is likely to provide clarity on the legality of challenges to gun laws under the Bruen ruling, emphasizing that Second Amendment rights are not unlimited and that gun laws do not need to rigidly adhere to historical precedent to be lawful.

The correlation between mass shootings and domestic violence underscores the importance of measures to prevent individuals with histories of domestic violence from accessing firearms. A 2021 study found that shooters in over two-thirds of mass shootings between 2014 and 2019 either killed a partner or family member or had a history of domestic violence. Similarly, a 2020 study found that over half of domestic homicides involved a firearm, highlighting the deadly consequences of allowing individuals with such histories to possess guns.