The US Supreme Court upheld a federal law on June 21 that prohibits anyone subject to a restraining order for domestic violence from owning firearms. The court ruled in an 8-1 decision that the law does not violate the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated that the court’s decision on the 21st emphasized a simple point: common-sense gun safety laws can save lives.
The ruling in the case of United States v. Rahimi overturned a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals where Zackey Rahimi was restricted from owning firearms due to a restraining order for assaulting his girlfriend. Rahimi later became involved in multiple shooting incidents and was charged for possessing firearms while under a domestic violence restraining order. The Supreme Court’s decision in this case upholds the federal law, ensuring that domestic abusers cannot legally obtain firearms.
New York Attorney General Letitia James expressed her satisfaction with the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the federal law preventing domestic abusers from owning firearms. She stated that this law, along with similar regulations enacted by nearly all states and jurisdictions in the US, helps protect vulnerable groups and prevents guns from falling into the hands of dangerous individuals.
As a member of a coalition of 25 state attorneys general, Letitia James submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court, arguing that repealing the existing federal law would make it more difficult to protect survivors of domestic abuse. They pointed out that studies show a five-fold increase in the likelihood of an abuser murdering an intimate partner if there are firearms in the home.