The United States Supreme Court upheld a federal law on Friday preventing people under domestic violence restraining orders from owning guns.
In an 8-1 decision, the justices affirmed that those found by a court to pose a credible threat to another’s safety can be temporarily disarmed under the Second Amendment.
The ruling supports a 1994 law and overturns a federal appeals court decision from New Orleans. Chief Justice John Roberts noted that since the nation’s founding, laws have aimed to prevent those who threaten harm from misusing firearms. Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter.
The case involved Zackey Rahimi from Texas, accused of assaulting his girlfriend and threatening her with a gun. After a protective order was issued against him, police found firearms in his apartment while investigating other shootings.
Rahimi pleaded guilty to violating federal law, but his conviction was overturned by the appeals court following the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, which expanded gun rights and altered how courts evaluate firearm restrictions.
The Biden Administration appealed the case. Justice Elena Kagan highlighted confusion in lower courts about the implications of the Bruen decision, which dismissed the traditional balancing test for evaluating gun laws. The Bruen decision has led to the invalidation of various gun restrictions.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that the domestic violence law fits within a historical tradition of disarming dangerous individuals.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh expressed concerns that ruling in Rahimi’s favour could undermine the background check system, which has blocked many gun sales to those under domestic violence orders.
Rahimi remains in custody in Texas and has stated he would avoid firearms upon release.
Data from the 2020 CDC and Everytown for Gun Safety shows guns were used in 57% of killings involving intimate partners, with an average of 70 women shot and killed by partners each month.