Supreme Court appears poised to uphold gun ban for domestic abusers

The Supreme Court appeared poised to uphold a federal law prohibiting those under domestic violence restraining orders from owning firearms during Nov. 7 oral arguments in United States v. Rahimi, a case challenging the constitutionality of a federal ban on firearms possession by those under domestic violence restraining orders.

A federal law enacted in 1994 prohibits those subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. The case concerns Zackey Rahimi, a Texas man who was placed under a restraining order after assaulting his girlfriend in 2019 and threatening to shoot her. Rahimi later took part in other crimes, including his involvement in five shootings, after which authorities searched his home and charged him with violating that federal ban.

But after the Supreme Court's June 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, striking down part of New York's handgun-licensing law, an appeals court threw out Rahimi's conviction, arguing Rahimi still had the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment per that case. It remains to be seen whether any action by the court in the Rahimi case will impact the scope of the Bruen ruling.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who represented the government, argued that "history and tradition confirm common sense. Congress can disarm armed domestic abusers."

Most justices, including some on the court's perceived conservative wing, appeared to agree, and pointedly questioned Matthew Wright, a federal public defender representing Rahimi, about his arguments. The justices implied he made contradictory arguments about the government's ability to restrict firearms and his client's ability to own them.